Never Forget
by Robin Grim
Summary: How could Robin have known she had connections to the sociopathic, blood-loving, famous Plegian Dark Mage known as Henry? She couldn't remember anything before meeting Chrom, but forgetting someone like the white haired Plegian seemed impossible...but she can just feel he isn't lying to her, and he tries so hard to help her. She promises herself that she'll never forget him again.
1. The Meeting

**Wow...been forever, huh? I've been kind of working on my co-written fanfiction with a friend of mine on another account, but for the most part I haven't really been working on any fanfiction for a long time...just didn't feel the inspiration, you know? I had planned on doing a second version for my Sonic The Hedgehog story; Eclipse the Hedgehog, with a different outcome and events. But I've decided to branch out from my almost exclusive Sonic stories, not because I love the series any less (despite the recent...missteps, I'm a forgiving and understanding person after all), but because I don't feel like having people critisize my work simply due to the world it's in. The only other series I have fanfiction for is Inuyasha (my first fanfiction ever posted here) and Fire Emblem ("Happy Bird" and "Happy Bird of the Sea"). Due to my absolute adoration for Henry I decided to make a story of him and Robin (one of my fav couples) but have it multi-chapter like most of my stories, to flesh it out more. I read a story, "Red Eyes" and "Among Crows" by "Punch Lord", that had the AU of Henry and Robin knowing each other before the amnesia...I adore this idea, and give credit for it where it is due. Hope you all enjoy, read and review if you can!**

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Their meeting was one she'd never be able to forget. The Shepherds' camp was surrounded by the horrible creatures known as Risen after their meeting with Validar, everyone now suspicious of the Plegian king...but where they had come from meant nothing at the time, they had to focus on surviving the encounter.

The crows seemed to appear out of nowhere, a storm of them, everyone either having their eyes now on the threat or the possible threat...those who watched the birds could only stare as they flew aside to reveal a white haired teenaged boy, one remaining on his outstretched arm.

"A Plegian." Fredrick's voice and expression could not of held his title of 'weary' any better, the purple eyes on newcomer's robes revealing his home, thanks to Tharja revealing that to the group.

"It is." Chrome agreed cautiously as Robin, a teenager who looked more like a child with pigtailed orange hair and black eyes, began to nervously fidget with her own purple eyed cloak...she hated the thing since finding out it tied her to her best friend's enemy during the previous war; but she more hated the idea that she had once known, and cared for, any of the Plegian soldiers the Ylissian army had cut down.

The almost unhealthy looking Plegian grinned at the group and began to make puns while telling them that they were trapped, which was rather unsettling. He was increadably thin and his eyes remained closed at seemingly all times...it caused the tactician to fidget more, as she did when she didn't trust someone.

"We know we're trapped!" The blue haired prince wasn't the best at keeping his temper in check when his friends were in danger...that was probably the reason orange haired girl was always seen at his side in times of trouble.

"What is your p-point, Mister Dark M-mage?" The child-like teenager questioned, polite and stuttering softly...she may have been brilliant with tactics, but she was no where near the natural leader her best friend was, stuttering when speaking to those she didn't know.

"I want to join your caws." One of the previously closed eyes opened slightly, looking almost curiously at Robin...he didn't have his tome out, so he probably wanted to know how she had known he was a Dark Mage.

"Why would you do that?" The brown haired general questioned, still not trusting the crow loving man.

"Oh, don't let all the joking around fool ya-I've got kind of a thing for killing. Most funny people do, you know. The two things must be linked somehow." He grinned more, and she was certain that if his eyes were open only bloodlust would have been in them.

"Ever talk to a jester when he's off duty? Those guys are some sick dastards!" The sudden laughter, loud and high pitched, scared the crow from his arm...it made the cloaked girl's head hurt.

"Well Robin?" The blue eyes man questioned, trusting her judgement. She bit her lip and messed with the sleeves of her cloak more for a minute, thinking. The Plegian man's bloodlust meant he may turn on them, but he could also be a powerful ally, if that same bloodlust could be directed solely at their enemy.

"We should see if he can be trusted...maybe have someone watch him while we fight? If he can refrain from killing for the battle, we shouldn't have to worry about him killing us." The black eyed teenager explained her thinking to the leader softly, causing him to slowly nod in agreement.

"You mean I can't kill?" The white haired boy asked with a frown, she suddenly felt like she should smile apologetically at him, but refrained.

"It's a-a test." The tactician explained instead, expecting him to stay displeased but he smiled after a moment.

"If it's just for this fight I guess it's fine." She blinked, surprised the closed eyed boy was agreeing.

"I'm Henry." He waited for several moments to introduce himself, as if expecting someone to do it for him.

"Robin, Miriel, watch him...we'll have introductions after we see if he's trustworthy." Chrom ordered, returning his attention to the Risen.

"R-right!" Robin agreed, voice a little louder than before, a slight stutter entering it as well.

"Oh, if I must." Miriel didn't sound overly pleased with the decision, but she was far too smart to argue.

The cloaked teenage girl looked over the battlefield critically before softly stating everyone's placement, her best friend relaying the orders loudly, moving those who were far enough away from the enemy to better positions.

"Now!" As soon as the word left the prince's lips everything became a mess of humanoids and weapons or magic, the Shepherds attacking the Risen before they could get any closer...it was always so hectic, making it difficult for her to coordinate everyone during battle, especially when she had to fight as well. Within a moment someone could die, because she hadn't seen them or directed them, and the fear of that ate away at her almost constantly...that was the reason for the black eyed girl's shyness.

"Robin." The voice of the female mage brought the tactician back to reality, her worries quickly being tossed aside.

"Thank y-you Miriel." She was thankful that she had been pulled from her less than pleasant thoughts, getting a mere nod in return.

The young looking teenager pulled an Elfire tome from within her cloak, holding the magic book in her right hand. While she was more than capable of using a sword, magic was heavily prefered...she didn't much like blood, and magic would still be the go-to even if she did; the energy that filled and surrounded her as she prepared to cast was something a simple sword could never beat, and watching her enemies burn filled her with an odd sense of fulfillment.

"Elfire!" The energy around the tactician crackled as the three red rings of fire magic appeared around her, two more rings pointing at her enemy. A rush filled her as the written spell was ripped from the page, leaving it blank like the others before it, to become the fireball.

"Gah!" The Risen she hit cried out, his rotting flesh burning from his bones...the bright fire reflected well in her eyes, making them appear a bloody red to anyone who looked upon them at that moment.

"Sumia, to the left!" Her shyness left the moment her spell was cast, making her far more capable of giving orders in the middle of a fight...it had been odd for everyone to see this sudden shift at first, but those who had been around for more than a few fights were no longer bothered by it. Risen fell left and right, parts of their rotting bodies disintegrating as they were cut off or as they died.

"Virion, fall back!" The pigtailed teenager's voice could be easily heard, even over the clashing of weapons and enemy screams. "Ricken, take his place! Lissa, focus on healing Virion!" The orders were followed immediately, the tactician having no problem juggling fighting and commanding as she continued to work toward ending the fight.

Robin didn't find out until later that Henry spent the whole fight watching her, smiling widely as she called out orders and cast the fire spells she so adored, looking almost as though he was watching some sort of deity.

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 **So, how is it so far? Hopefully good...I tried to keep Henry in character, but also with the knowledge of previous friendship with Robin. I hope I did well. See you once I'm done my next chapter ^^**


	2. The Past

**Here's the next chapter of Never Forget! This delves a bit more into Robin and Henry's past, along with some of her own past. Sorry if the paragraphs are a little jumbled at times, I'm writing this on my smart phone and every beginning of spoken text starts a new paragraph because it all looks so much longer on it (it also doesn't have a word count or anything, so I can't really tell length until I put it in a word document on my computer). Nonetheless, I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Read and Review!**

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Her past was one she wished she both had, and had never, forgotten. The battle with the Risen had been won with minimal damage to the Shepherds, 'Marth' had revealed herself to be Lucina from the future and everyone really just needed a break to digest all this new information and the knowledge of several more future children that had come back with her but had been separated.

Robin was organizing her tactics books on the small shelf within her tent, she always had a set amount and would switch any newly bought books with those she had already finished reading. It was a task that was so common that she didn't need to focus on it at all, leaving the task one she used to help sort out her thoughts or come up with new strategies to write down and show Chrom later.

"Robin." The call of her name from outside the tent was sudden, the voice easy to recognize.

"Come in Chrom." Her voice was barely loud enough to hear outside, but she didn't bother to look up from her work...his voice wasn't panicked, after all.

"At your bookshelf again?" Chrom sounded amused, perhaps because it reminded him of the reason he'd gotten the waist high book storage; having found her frequently reorganizing the library books within the Ylissian castle.

"It helps me organize my thoughts." The black eyed teenager reminded her best friend, her voice was louder when it was just the two of them...when she didn't feel like she had to hide.

"That's a funny way to think. Nya ha ha." The cloaked girl froze, even her breathing had stopped...she may have only heard the laugh for the first time a short while ago, but it still caused this sort of terrified response.

"You need to figure out where we put him." The blue eyed man sounded apologetic, likely due to seeing her response to the laugh.

"O-oh...um, r-right..." The orange haired girl agreed, standing and walking over to the small table in her tent...she opened the book atop it, it had a plain cover of pale yellow, no title to be seen.

"L-let's see..." She murmured, flipping through the pages...it had tent arrangements, both from the old war and the current, now that so many people had married and left few to have tent-mates.

"...R-Ricken?" The young mage had been spending a surprising amount of time around Virion's old vessel, Cherche, but they had yet to get to the point of love...meaning he may very well be the only unmarried male beyond the one she was trying to find a place for. The pigtailed teen herself likely would have been sharing a tent with the wyvern rider, if not for her books and the aforementioned beast...besides, she would spend long nights awake reading tactic books, and the last thing anyone needed was a tired and irritated creature who could breathe fire.

"Ricken i-is...the o-only boy without a t-tent-mate." The statement was soft, and from the tilt of his head Henry was too far away to hear it, despite being a single step behind the blue haired man.

"Ricken? ...Alright Robin, I'll introduce them. You figure out his battle partner in the meantime." He got a quick nod in response, and lead the dark mage from the tent.

The tent's occupant took a deep breath and returned to her earlier task, allowing her mind to focus fully on where to put the new Shepherds member.

¬NF¬

It had been a few hours since Robin had seen her best friend and the new member, Miriel having come and recounted what had happened during the previous fight...now, however, it was the middle of the night and she was certain she'd die tonight.

"Robin..." Within the darkness covering most of the tactician's tent stood Henry, only the tips of his hair and around his closed eyes visible in the flickering candle light from her desk.

"A-away.." Terror wracked her body as she stepped back, her mind failing to register that she was currently confined in here with him. He took a step as well, and now all she could see was his lips curved into a frown.

"Please, stop..." The usually high voice was quiet, sounding...sad. "There's no one here now, so please stop acting like that." Another step closer, only for her to back away the same distance...and her back hit the bar holding the back of her tent up.

"N-no!" The black haired girl cried out, trying to make the other leave her alone...he froze before another step revealed his face to her. His eyes were open fully, but the minimal light wasn't enough to tell their colour.

"Stop this Robin! You know who I am!" The white haired boy sounding like he was...begging? His expression looked pained as well.

"I-I think you h-have the w-wrong person..." A fearful murmur.

"No I don't! Long orange hair ALWAYS tied into pigtails, black eyes and the ability to use both swords and magic; but you almost never actually use your sword and prefer fire magic above all else." The description was spot on, causing widened eyes in response.

"I...do k-know you..." It was hard to believe she had anything to do with someone so unstable, but something within her said it wasn't a lie...and he knew too much for it to be a lie anyway.

"Of course you do!" The dark mage insisted. "You're my best friend Robin...I was eight when we met, and you were eleven...we traveled together until four years ago."

"...What h-happened four years a-ago?" The pigtailed girl asked, pulling away from the tent wall...the time frame would mean she has left him shortly before Chrom found her. Perhaps the most important question was why she had left him; maybe sick of the bloodthirsty attitude, or the dark and pun filled sense of humour became too much to bare. It was possible that he knew why she had remembered the Ylissian prince's name even after losing her memory! The question made him look down, the eyes almost looking closed again, but the frown only got sadder.

"I don't know." The robed boy admitted. "You just...disappeared one day. I was hoping you could tell ME that." A frown off her own appeared, wishing she could give him an answer.

"I d-don't know e-either." The cloaked girl stated, causing the amused expression of only one eye slightly open. "Chrom found me u-unconscious in a f-field a little less th-than four years a-ago. I can't...r-remember anything b-before that." There were several moments of silence and she was beginning to become worried about making him more upset before he suddenly burst into laughter.

"Nya ha ha ha!" The laugh echoed through the night, causing a chill to go up her spine...his eyes had finally closed again. "I was-nya ha ha...was wondering why you're wearing your-nya ha...your Grimleal clothes." It was impossible to understand what was so funny, especially when she didn't even know what he was talking about.

"What d-do you mean, 'G-Grimleal clothes'?" Robin questioned, the laughter suddenly stopping.

"Allow me to give you a grim reminder." Henry grinned at his pun, but all she could do was sigh...how she had put up with this was a mystery.

"The Grimleal were looking for you...so, if we were in a town when we were younger, you would wear those clothes to make sure no one would realize who you were. By the time I was 10 I was taller than you, so I acted as your older brother... you'd wear your usual clothes instead, since the Grimleal would draw more attention at that time." The white haired boy explained, the other in the tent looking thoughtful.

"Then...w-why did I still h-have them?" The orange haired teenager asked curiously.

"In case we got separated." The answer was immediate, receiving a nod.

"S-so...why were they l-looking for me?" It was an obvious question to ask.

"Because life is so grim without you." He was grinning again.

"H-Henry, that was basically th-the same pun as b-before." She pointed out.

"It is." The closed eyed boy agreed, not the slightest bit ashamed. "How's this instead? You make others feel like there's mor-tal life." The grin kept getting wider and the only responses were groans.

"I can't h-help think my position in this a-army could be threatened i-if you put the same e-effort into battle tactics a-as your puns..." The teenaged girl murmured with a soft sigh, forgetting about her earlier question...and that he had dodged around it.

"I have no interest in tactics, you've always loved them though. Used to read them to me before I went to sleep."

"If you d-don' t like them then w-why did I r-read them to you?" The cloaked boy's grin became a soft smile of reminiscing, looking proud of himself.

"I liked the sound of your voice. I refused to sleep until you read at least a page to me; but we couldn't carry much with us, so a tactic book for you was more important than some children's storybook." The robed girl had wide eyes, amazed at his simple admission.

"Didn't m-my stuttering b-bother you?" The dark mage gave another soft smile.

"You never stuttered around me, not unless you were acting as my little sister." The tactician could only stare, knowing he wasn't lying but still unable to believe him...the smile of the other suddenly fell again.

"You were shy by nature, but you had been alone since you were 5...allowing anyone to see your fear or stutters was dangerous, so you acted proud and fearless. You stood up to anyone who you believed had done wrong, fighting to protect innocents and never letting your guard down." The retelling of how she had been in the past made her head hurt, causing a brief thump.

"Alone..." Where had her mother and father been? Why had she been all alone until she met him? And why...did thinking about that make her angry, the back of her right hand burning?

"Alone." Henry confirmed.

"W-why?" Robin had to know, had to understand this sudden anger. There was several moments of silence.

"I don't know." His eyes weren't open, he had a smile again...there wasn't really a physical show of it, but something told her that he was lying.

"H-Henry...the truth." The black eyed teenager watched as the smile became a small frown.

"...I can't do that." It was her turn to frown.

"W-what? How come you 'c-can't do that'?! I-I' m the one w-who told you, aren't I? So I-I have the right t-to know!" A glare, rather uncommon to the pigtailed teenager outside of battle, was currently directed towards her apparent friend.

"I have the right to know Henry." For a moment the stutter were gone, the light of the mostly forgotten candle hitting her eyes just right to make them appear that bloody red colour again. The short haired boy took a sharp inhale, eyes slightly open and staring into her own...a shudder wracked his body, perhaps he was afraid, like many others who had seen the colour appear to change. A gulp and unsteady breathing, he had to be panicking badly.

"...Not yet." He finally murmured, it looked a lot like he was trying to get his breathing under control...she, somehow, must not have ever gotten like this around him before.

"Why not?" Another gulp.

"You're fighting in a war at the moment, right?" A simple nod, the red glare not fading. "It'll distract you...I thought it was an act, I didn't realize you actually forgot. If I had known I wouldn't have mentioned anything, and I should have been thinking more about my answers."

"Henry-"

"I'll tell you when this war is over...like you said, you have the right to know." The angry frown of the robed teenager fell, replaced by a soft pour as the light finally moved from her eyes and their true black could be seen again.

"You have to wait until we win for me to lone you some info." She let out another soft groan.

"Henry, a-are you-" It had taken a moment, but she noticed the cloaked boy's pun had sounded forced, somehow...it made the orange haired teen worry, but she was rather suddenly cut off.

"It's late, you should get some sleep. I'm sure tomorrow will be a long day." His voice sounded disarmingly kind, softer than normal. He stepped towards the entrance to her tent, his hand touching the flap before she could finally figure out what to say.

"H-Henry!" The dark mage stopped, waiting for her to speak but not turning to look at her.

"...Want me to...r-read to you?"

"...It wouldn't be the same." That wasn't the response the tactician had been hoping for, but there was nothing else she could do as he stepped out of her tent...she was left all alone once more, yet the comfort she had found from that before was now absent.

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 **Writing Henry's puns is a LOT harder than you might think, and I've come to realize that it's likely to be the bane of my existence in this story...luckily I have a rather 'punny' friend who is more than willing to help me out. He likes Henry too...and didn't believe me of the awesomeness that he is, until I got him to play the game. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all later!**


	3. The Distance

**Sorry this took so long, I got stumped on an earlier it of this chapter...luckily, I figured it out. This is pretty long, since it was totally on my phone...8 pages long, in fact. And 3, 478 words, before these added bits. So, hopefully you enjoy, read and review!**

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She wished she could forget the distance placed between them, and the confusing pain it caused.

When Robin went to breakfast the next morning she was extremely tired, her running mind from talking with Henry the night before had barely allowed her to sleep...she was surprised when she saw him eating alone, a frown on her face. She usually ate meals with Chrom and Sully, Lissa and Libra would usually be sitting there too, but it wasn't like anyone had to sit in a certain place or with certain people. After a moment of thought the tactician had made her decision.

"H-Henry? I th-thought you-"

"Coming!" The dark mage called, giving a wide grin in on the direction of his tent-mate before turning his head, giving her an apologetic smile. "I think the little mage called me, sorry Robin." The white haired boy said, standing and walking to Ricken...who looked scared, but he probably still felt uncomfortable around the other, likely why he had called him even though the orange haired teenager hadn't heard it. Cherche, who was sitting across that table with him and Minerva 'sitting' at the end, merely looked confused.

"Robin! Come on!" She turned her head, seeing the princess standing and waving towards her with a wide grin...Maribelle and Vaike were at the table as well, the noble sitting beside her friend while her husband sat beside their ruler. With a nod the childlike teenager headed to the table.

"You trying to sit with the newbie or something?" The king's wife questioned, looking confused.

"T-trying would...be the m-most correct d-definition." The black eyed teenager admitted with a sigh, sitting beside the spiky haired blond...it wasn't her favourite spot; but the knight was more likely to give her a borderline deadly pat on the back, the horse riding healer would fuss over her clothing and say she needed more feminine clothes again and the priest...though the reason was unknown, she had felt uncomfortable around him since they met.

"Why would you try to sit with that...mannerless cur?!" The Valkyrie demanding, looking rather annoyed.

"I-"

"I wouldn't call him 'mannerless' Mari, I'd call him nuts!" Her husband laughed loudly, cutting off the person beside him...said woman had the sudden urge to glare or snap at him, another sign the closed eyed boy hadn't been lying about their past together, but she refrained.

"Vaike." For a moment there was no shyness and she sounded annoyed, causing everyone to look at the sword and magic user...she coughed softly, looking away from them. "It's...not r-right to insult your c-comrades, no m-matter what you think o-of them." She finished, looking briefly at the umbrella carrier. "...Th-That goes for you t-too Maribelle." The cloaked teenager added softly, beginning to eat her meal. She tried to ignore the feeling of being stared at.

"...I agree with Robin." The queen stated, and the pigtailed teenager had to remind herself not to falter in her eating just because she had someone agree with her.

"You do Sully?" The man with a tendency to lose his axe never had called the Shepherd members by their titles.

"Of course." She agreed.

"Insulting your comrades, truly insulting them, will make it more difficult for them to work with you...it may become hard for others to trust you as well." Chrom pointed out, causing his self-proclaimed rival to look thoughtful...the original group of Shepherds, the amnesiac included, had become a tightly knit group that could insult each other without any real worry about repercussions even before the first war, and they had only become even closer as the army grew more seemingly each day.

"Besides that, 'Henry' is obviously pretty unstable-that's not an insult, it's a statement-so getting yourself on his bad side seems like a pretty bad idea." The armour wearing female explained, the others agreeing with her while Robin found herself becoming defensive.

"Just because we fight it doesn't mean we don't have our own fragile hearts." She reminded them, it was something the Shepherd themselves had taught her...stutters has left, revealing her to have become angry. "And that includes Henry." With that the cloaked teenager stood, deciding she was done with the group for now.

"Robin-" Chrom began to speak, likely to try and calm her down, since the sunlight was hitting in just that way to make her eyes appear red.

"She's right." The currently red eyes snapped to the side, seeing an almost nervous looking Lucina standing beside the table. "Henry is just as much a member of this team as anyone else. Just as human, even if he doesn't always act it." Lucina had never really agreed with the other teenager; even though the others hadn't noticed, beyond perhaps Miriel, the time traveller had always seem cautious and distrusting of the other. Knowing that, Henry must-

"He must have been a decent guy in your time, huh?" The fact that Vaike had figured it out too was...odd, at best.

"Yes. Far more really." The blue haired girl agreed. "He..." She trailed off, looking at the boy they were talking about...who was paying considerable attention to the wyvern at the table. A deep breath was taken before the voice became quiet, obviously not wanting him to hear. "He had someone he was very important to...he would do anything for them. He was the...the first to die, trying to protect his friends and their families. After he did, the person who cares for him lost the will to fight, to speak...even think. They died as well, shortly after. The Shepherds, which consisted of old members and those who have or will join this army...they were dealt a horrible blow that day, to lose two very powerful members. It wasn't long until Grima showed up." The girl with the Exalt Mark in her eye looked down, trembling a bit as though she could see it in front of her now.

"...Did you see it happen?" Sully was showing herself to be a protective mother who wanted to help her child as best she could.

"...Yes." Her daughter murmured softly. "I was with you, Mother...it wasn't supposed to be dangerous. All of the parents and children were there, it was supposed to be a picnic, but...but things went horribly wrong..."

"Henry protected you?" Maribelle was rather obviously surprised, probably because of what they had been discussing a minute ago.

"And the other children, without a moment of hesitation." It was clear by the look on the girl's blue eyes that she was serious, she could remember it...and also wouldn't stand for someone insulting her protector.

"All of them?" Libra really wasn't much of a talker during meals, but he still enjoyed their company enough that he didn't mind sitting with his wife's family and friend...he had grown up as a devoted follower of Naga, who had apparently made it clear in teachings that children should be protected above all else, the fact that the white haired boy had done so despite being a follower of Grima must have been quite the shock for him.

"All of them. With his life. He...he didn't even have one."

"No kids...nothing to carry on his noble deed, and no one to teach of his good." The red haired woman muttered, looking down. "No one to carry on that surprisingly kind heart, and no one to protect for him..."

"Yes, that's right..." The swordswoman confirmed, looking away from the group. The orange haired teenager had calmed down, the sun had moved so her eyes were back to normal as well...she wanted to get away from this conversation, didn't want to think of the dark mage dying.

"Y-you still haven't e-eaten, right L-Lucina?" Several eyes looked at her, the desired blue among them, she had noticed the tray in the other's hands after all. "You sh-should take th-the chance to eat w-with your family a-again. I-I was just l-leaving anyway." A shy smile, forced for the orphan's sake...but it wasn't returned.

"Robin, you don't need to-" The smile at Lissa, for worrying, was more genuine.

"I have a-a book I wanted t-to study some before we l-leave anyway." The pigtailed teenager assured the other. "I-I'll see you a-all later." She grabbed her own tray, which had barely been touched, and carried it back to her tent...the others would have only worried more if she had left it at the table, and she might manage to peck at it a bit while reading.

¬NF¬

It was completely natural for the human body to become tired, or even require more sleep, if someone's mind was constantly running at full power. Being the tactician of the group meant Robin's job in the army was to do exactly that, thinking of millions of tactics and constantly reading tactic books to keep her skills as up to date as possible encase something happened was just the life she lived...it was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make, considering the friends and effective family she had gained among the Shepherds. Unfortunately, one of the side effects to this way of life was to frequently lose conscious when not in danger, including while they were travelling. Since animals all showed clearly that they were uncomfortable or felt in danger in the orange haired girl's presence they had little choice but to have someone carry her when this happened...Gaius ended up being the one to do so, as he had grown an odd fondness for the shy teenager, and his quick reflexes would keep her out of danger if they were attacked. Miriel had been adamant about Vaike not being allowed, as he was likely to lose her just as he had his axe, and Chrom had to actively lead everyone. Libra had offered once, but for some reason the thought of him carrying her made her want to run away screaming.

"This happened during the last war too, so it means she's fine." The pigtailed teenager could hear Vaike speaking, the thief had adjusted her a bit and caused her to briefly awaken.

"It does not mean she's fine!" Maribelle argued loudly, her equally blonde best friend having to remind her to be more quiet or she'd wake the sleeping black eyed girl...or draw the enemy to them, neither would be any good. "It means whatever was wrong last time is still wrong now." It was a wonder how the two had been together for even a few minutes, let alone married for a little over two years, when they where such complete opposites...a noblewoman and a street rat, somehow kept from arguing over everything. It was almost like something from a children's storybook.

"So then...what IS wrong with her? Once the war was done before she was fine again." Now that the spiky haired blond had been convinced that their genius friend indeed had something wrong with her he was worried.

"...We don't know." Chrom admitted, making sure to keep his eyes open for any sudden movement that may betray an ambush...Fredrick was wordlessly helping with that.

"I hope we can figure out whatever it is this time, so we can help her. I...if nothing else I want Robin to be able to see the world, and everything pretty in it, instead of just battles or where we put our camps. Maybe it could help her finally regain her memory...or at least have new ones to add." Lissa added, sounding sad.

"Lissa...the dark mage Tharja said the marks on her cloak are those of the Grimleal. That would mean she's from Plegia, my dear, and likely rather high up in the Grimleal at that." Libra tried to remind his wife, who only huffed. There was a sudden snap behind them, and Gaius stopped moving.

"...Nya ha ha! I bet Risen bones break the same as this stick!" The laugh, and dark humor, made it rather obviously Henry...though the timing was too perfect to be an accident. The war monk had said she was a follower of Grima, while Henry had made it clear from the night before that she had severely hated the Grimleal...though he hadn't told the others about them having a shared past he must have taken the words as an insult. After making sure that was all the army started moving again.

"...You don't really believe she's a Grimleal, do you? We've seen that people who follow Grima closely are...odd, at best. Robin may be shy, and she changes when mad or in battle, but I refuse to believe she could be part of such a...a horrible group!" The royal healer argued, making sure to be quieter than her friend.

"...She has made it clear that she feels uncomfortable around me, as someone who was high within the Grimleal would." A moment later a screech resounded around them, causing the everyone to freeze.

"I didn't mean to do that Crow." The white haired boy again...yes, he definitely took it as an insult. After a few minutes to be sure no one was heading at them they continued on, the childlike teenager falling asleep during the wait, only to be awoken when they moved.

"Libra, I love you, you know that. But you look like a girl...that's a pretty good reason for her to feel uncomfortable around you." The blue eyed blonde pointed out.

"Pretty much everyone does, Bubbles isn't alone in that.I'm the same really." The green eyed man spoke, not exactly usual during their travels. The nickname was because she was soft and cute, flying high with her abilities like a bubble; but would also pass out, as though falling to the ground, and her anger always burst...no one could disagree with it being a suitable nickname.

"Yes...I suppose being a devoted follower of Naga may have nothing to do with Robin's discomfort." The once priest relented, sounding happier.

"Besides, if she was Grimleal wouldn't she argue with you about what god to pray too? Besides, I've heard her call out to Naga before, same as us." Of course it would be the Fighter to point out the obvious.

"Exactly! Robin follows Naga, there's no way she'd pray to some god of destruction." Sully agreed, the first time she'd spoken in this conversation...the one they spoke of had saved her life more times than she cared to count, so having her borderline an enemy was just too ridiculous to think about. They changed topics shortly after that, but the cloaked girl couldn't make any of it out, falling back into unconsciousness.

¬NF¬

"Robin, it's time." Chrom's voice, and his hand gently shaking her shoulder, awoke the teenager. She was placed down by her carrier, he stepped back so she could easily assess the area.

"B-Bandits?" Robin questioned, though there was little point; she could tell almost, if not all, of the situation from a mere glance...that was the only reason her sleeping when they got into a fight wasn't a big deal. Her best friend beside her made a small noise of confirmation. "And th-that boy is fighting them t-too...the buildings h-here still have a-at least one person in each, and p-potentionally threats to the bandits, it's o-obvious because of them being slightly c-cautious in their movements." She opened her mouth again, only to be cut off.

"Oh gods...Owain." Lucina let out a groan, drawing the tactician's attention.

"O-Owain?" She questioned, looking at the boy.

"Lissa's son from the future." Gaius explained softly, receiving a nod of understanding.

"Lissa, go with Fredrick and get your son...he'll surely help us if you ask. Libra, go with Sumia and take out the bandits farthest from us. Maribelle, take Gaius and sneak up on the closest group. Virion, don't let anything near Olivia." Chrom relayed the orders, everyone starting to move out. "Ricken, you're with Cherche...try to get those farther enemies. Henry, you're with Ro-"

"I'll help Ricken." There was barely time to process the apparent change of the plan before the dark mage jumped onto the dark knight's small horse, and they were heading towards the area the pigtailed girl had ordered...it wasn't exactly a bad plan, but she had planned to have the white haired boy fighting with her so she could be sure he didn't get distracted by her fighting again.

"Robin? What now?" The king asked his friend.

"This...this c-could work. I-I guess me a-and you could-"

"I'll fight with Robin." His daughter spoke up, surprising the two. The orange haired teenager hadn't seen the apparent blue haired princess fight in something in the range of three years, so learning how much better she had gotten would admittedly be beneficial.

"A-alright." The fire user agreed with a nod.

"Everyone else, protect the caravans!" No one complained about not fighting, quickly moving to surround their supplies.

"Chrom, L-Lucina...let's g-go." A nod from them both and they were off to help.

¬NF¬

"Hello, Lucina." Owain was blond, as expected with two parents of the same hair colour, but it was spiky as well...the black eyed teenager assumed it was something from his mother's side, since his uncle had spiky hair as well.

"Owain." Lucina didn't really seem to have any idea how to talk to her cousin, and actually looked a little uncomfortable.

"H-hello." Robin managed to speak, with speech like he usually seemed to have it would be nerve wracking at best to talk with him.

"...Robin?" She was rather surprised he knew her name, giving a blink and a nod.

"The paintings kept of you within my brick home truly held your essence." He grinned and she just blinked again.

"Um...e-excuse me?" The tactician questioned, she was amazed anyone could ever understand him.

"The paintings kept of you in the castle actually look like you." The blue haired girl explained, her family and the orange haired teenager looking at her in shock while she looked away.

"...I-I'm surprised there are p-paintings of m-me in the c-castle...but I'm g-glad they l-look like me." The shy teenager had a confused smile, but it was still a smile.

"But of course! A hero of my homeland such as yourself deserves paintings in your image, a stone statue in your memory even!" The blue eyed boy insisted with a wide grin...his cousin didn't exactly look pleased with him at the moment.

"A...h-hero?" The thought was...unbelievable.

"You're already a hero Robin!" The sword loving prince had gotten his enthusiasm from his mother, that much was obvious.

"You have saved each person here, except Lucina and Owain, more times than any of us are capable of keeping track of Robin. And not just the people here, countless innocent people and Ylisse itself have been saved by your quick thinking and planning, my friend." Chrom agreed with a hand on her shoulder, smiling reassuringly at her.

"You're practically a member of the royal family Robin!" Lissa agreed, a large grin of her own.

"Once this is over we'll have a few paintings made, and maybe that statue...you more than deserve them." The pigtailed teenager smiled shyly at the royals, their significant others and even the other Shepherds agreeing loudly about the paintings and whatnot.

"She doesn't 'deserve' any of that Owain, she's the reason-" The voice of the future princess was soft, but the cloaked girl was able to hear them as her friends began making plans for her memorials.

"Lucina." The boy said her name softly, but it was certainly not happily. "That is not the whole story, and you know it. No matter what happened after, she deserves praise and love for how much she helped everyone we cared about...yes, things did not stay so bright. But you cannot tell me you would be immune to what happened should you have been in her position, and if you try it is a lie." He was defending a person he only remembered from paintings, if his surprise of how accurate they were was any indication...his mother must have spoke highly of her, in his future.

"Robin?" Maribelle caught her attention with the soft question of her name.

"W-what?" The magic preferring teenager hadn't been paying much attention to her friends, causing her to be uncertain why she was being spoken to.

"We were thinking of stopping nearby, taking a lunch break...does that sound good?" A nod of agreement.

"Sorry g-guys...still tired I-I guess." She apologized, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Come on Bubbles, climb on." Gaius knelt down, allowing her to climb into his back as they started towards a small place to make a temporary camp. She tried to look back at Henry, but his attention was also on the time travelling royals, despite that they had stopped talking now...she just wanted to talk to him, it hurt that he had been rather obviously avoiding her, even without her memories he had been a close and dear friend that she wanted to get to know all over again...

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 **I have found that Henry's puns aren't the only bane of this story...so too is Owain's speech. Ever. Thank god he speaks normally to Lucina...he can't remember much of his Robin, but he knows from the stories their parents told that she was protective of her friends and did everything she could to protect innocent people...despite her becoming Grima he refuses to blame her for that, and hints here that there was a reason behind it that he can more than understand. He's far more understanding than his cousin, it would seem. If anyone has ever heard the "Nylocke's Theme" from "TOME (Terrain of Magical Expertise)", my friend who helps me with Henry's puns and I agree that it fits Owain to a T. If you haven't heard it than look it up on youtube, you'll see exactly what I mean. Anyway, hope to be back soon. See you next time.**


	4. The Future

**I am so sorry that this chapter took so long, especially when I've had it almost done for a long time now...but thanks to the lack of available computer, due to us moving, I have been unable to post this chapter. Knowing that made it more difficult to write the last few paragraphs...but now that we have moved and our internet is set up I can finally post this! Hopefully those of you who have been waiting for this, as many seem to be, while be pleased. Read and review and enjoy!**

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She sometimes wished she was from the future, despite how bleak it obviously was, simply so she could have known the children of her friends as they grew; she promised herself to be around to watch this world's versions of them, and keep those memories close to her heart for the rest of her life.

Over the time of a few days it was decided to try searching out the other future children; they were fighting an army far different that Plegia now, and more people on their side could only be a good thing. Owain spent quite a bit of time explaining everyone's fighting ability and connections to others.

Kjelle was Sully and Chrom's second child, a few short months younger than Owain, with the same blue hair as her sister and dark red eyes that looked more like brown if you didn't look closely. A knight rather than the cavalier everyone had been expecting, though she had been assured by the girl's cousin that she had certainly TRIED learning to ride a horse, she wore shoulder guards that made her look far larger than she was and armour that both hid and accented her more feminine body...she got along with her sister and was loyal to her cousin, but that was about it.

Brady was Maribelle and Vaike's son, a full year younger than the other blond, though his hair was even more blond and spiked with his brown eyes having a scar over the left, causing him to look more like a thug than a noble man. He was a priest and rather good at it, though at times he seemed insecure about his inability to fight...he and Owain, despite what Robin had expected due to their mothers, weren't very close and apparently hadn't been for years; instead it was Nah that he had come to spend his time with, perhaps they both felt like they didn't do enough for everyone or something like that.

Laurent was the son of Miriel and Donnel, a year older than Lucina here but a mere 13 in the others' time (he apparently was brought back at a sooner point than the others, two years in fact), hair brown with a slight curl and his mother's deep red eyes covered in a pair of glasses. A mage with a great deal of skill (and her hat), the resemblance between him and his mother are appent even with his different hair colour...he didn't really have friends, likely due to his high intellect and difficult-to-understand speech.

Cynthia was the daughter of Sumia and Gaius, barely a year over a teen, long orange hair tied in a set of pigtails (worn like that only due to a steadfast belief of Robin being a hero, and the tactician wearing her own orange hair in those same pigtails 'when she was young') along with soft brown eyes that had quite the calming effect. She was a pegasus knight with more skill than her own mother or even Cordelia, her 'mount' being Sumia's own from the future...she and Owain had been close friends for a few years, thanks to their mutual acts and hatred of evildoers.

Yarne was Panne and Lon'qu's son, only a year younger than Lucina, hair black with a small patch of brown-black on his forehead and brown-red eyes that didn't usually appear the latter unless he had changed into his large form or was about to. He could transform like his mother, though made it rather clear that he preferred not to fight, making him weaker than her...he only seemed to be close to Cherche's son and often followed him like a lost puppy (she had found out that they were effectively step-siblings, as Panne and Ricken had died when they were young...due to Lonqu' and Cherche being opposite gender with their significant others both having died around the same time they decided to raise the two boys together, eventually falling in love before dying and leaving their sons alone).

Severa was Cordelia and Gregor's daughter (still hard to believe those two had ended up together), about the same age as Owain, her hair a distinct red like her parents and brown eyes with just a hint of red. A mercenary like her father; she actually seemed to excel at swordsmanship, though seemed to prefer to stay out of any real fights...her best friends were Inigo and Owain, she tried to keep them in line and they tried to ignore her temper, but they remained closely knit despite that.

Nah (such a cruel name for a child) was Nowi and Stahl's daughter, four months older than Cynthia, brown-green hair in long braids and hot pink eyes that could draw the attention of almost anyone. A manakete by birth, her fire breath was crystalline just like her mom...she enjoyed the company of Brady, and they seemed to frequently help out more than needed in the camp.

Noire was Tharja and Kellam's daughter, around the same age as Nah, had black hair like her parents and dark grey eyes that seemed to have a hint of purple sometimes. She had never fought in the future, but had been forced to shortly before the army reached her, using a bow she had found nearby and revealing a suprising talent as an archer (Robin had asked Virion to give her lessons to hone that natural talent)...the poor girl had no friends, apparently due to a fear of any she had made being effected by curses on her or placed on them by her mom.

Inigo was Olivia and Virion's son (which made him Duke Inigo of House Virion if Rosanne still existed in the future), a year younger than Lucina, grey hair that somehow made him truly look the part of a noble and dark purple eyes that appeared brown in the wrong light. A mercenary, apparently trained by his mother (she supposed his mother had to get a great deal better with a sword in the future), he was secretly a rather skilled dancer as well but many people didn't approve of male dancers. His friends were Owain and Severa; he showed surprising skill in understanding the former and the latter frequently told him off about his womanizing ways (though he acted otherwise he actually held anything more than hand holding very seriously), while he often called her out on her attitude.

Gerome was Cherche and Ricken's son, a year older than Cynthia, red hair spiked back and eyes constantly hidden behind a mask (she once heard Yarne say something about his step-brother actually being shy and using it to hide that, along with distance himself from others...she wasn't sure how much she believed that). A wyvern rider who rides Minerva, better than his mother even, the wyvern loving woman tries her best to get him to teach her his secret, though he has yet to agree. The only ones he held close were his step-brother, often trying to calm his panic in his own harsh way and allowing the older to follow him, and Miverva who he took care of and seemed to like the Taguel boy's presence.

The only one that Owain (and the other future children) could tell her nothing about was Morgan, a year younger than Cynthia made him the youngest of the children, white hair and black eyes while he claimed to be her son...when asked who his father was, just like his age, it took him several days to remember (amnesia, like her, but he appeared to have fallen on his head to cause it) before he finally said Henry. Owain and several others had adamantly denied the the Dark Mage boy having any children, especially not with her as they were far more like siblings (the blond mercanary did admit that they shared a room in the castle before dying and she had fallen for her childhood friend, but had found herself barely able to survive without him so feared him leaving if she told him how she felt), eventually the tactician got sick of the others being cruel to her sweet son and demanded with the red eyes that the attitude halt...even Chrom had agreed that they were going too far, though his supposed father never got involved.

¬NF¬

"Mother?" Robin looked up from her books and scrolls, now placed on a fold-out 'table' that had been added to her bookshelf top so she could rid herself of the desk she used and add a bed for her son in the small tent (for a bit it had been Owain who was in her tent, as he didn't seem to get along with anyone but his friends, and even Inigo had said he was unable to handle living with the melodramatic blond).

"Hmm?" She moved a bit in her seat to get a better look at the white haired child, who was sitting on his bed and fidgeting.

"Why...why isn't Dad ever around?" The tactician blinked, not expecting the question...admittedly, Henry seemed to be avoiding them rather well, he seemed to just show up a few feet from her during battle but be completely missing otherwise.

"I-I'm..." She paused, taking a breath. "I'm really n-not sure Sweetie." He smiled at the nickname, his mother had taken surprisingly quickly to her role. "I th-think he's 15...only two y-years older th-than you. Maybe that's w-why." The orange haired teenager added.

"How old are you than?" The black eyed boy asked.

"From what h-he told me, 18." She smiled when his eyes widened.

"Mother's an adult already!"

"H-hardly...I certainly don't l-look the part." He smiled back.

"But you'll love it when you get older Mother!" The pigtailed teenager had heard that from the girls in the Shepherds and villages too, though she still wasn't so sure.

"Y-you wanted to ask Chrom t-to help you p-practice swordplay today, didn't y-you?" The pale boy's eyes widened again.

"Oh, right!" He agreed, jumping to his feet and looking for his sword near the end of his bed...he lifted it in triumph as soon as he found it. "I'll be back later Mother, no CAWS for concern!" The cloaked boy grinned and laughed upon hearing his mother groan, running from the tent. It was silent within for several moments as the remaining tenant stared after her son before returning her attention to her desk, but the candle now rather than the books and scrolls.

"Control...fire?" Her mind went back to a time a few days ago when the boy who had been here before innocently asked why she didn't move the fire so she could see her books better...not the candle, the FIRE. When she had asked the meaning, he responded that she could control any fire with ease, and this would often cause nearby flames to flicker or flare in response to her emotions.

She had wanted to ask Henry and Owain about if her son spoke the truth somehow or if it was some hallucination from hitting his head (Miriel had once brought to her attention that her fire spells never missed their target and normal fire never would spread nearby her, even if the wind would dictate that it should, but at the time the tactician had laughed off the idea of controlling the harsh element)...the dark mage was no where to be found but the blond was, and though it took until earlier today to get out the answer he had finally admitted that the unreal ability was indeed one of her own. Taking a breath the orange haired teenager held a hand out towards the small flame flickering atop the candle, though after a moment she decided a single finger should be more than enough to control such a tiny thing. All of her focus went to what she was trying to do...she lost track of time from how long she had been trying when a voice snapped her out of her seeming trance.

"Nya ha. You're trying too hard." Her head snapped up to find the apparent father of her child in her tent.

"H-how-" It really shouldn't have surprised her that he could show up in her tent when he could do it on the battlefield...he brushed off her question, assuming he even understood what had been being asked.

"You're trying too hard." The robed boy was smiling widely, but she wasn't sure if he found her attempt amusing or if he was just being him.

"Too h-hard?" The cloaked girl questioned, receiving a nod.

"The Robin I knew never had to think about controlling fire, it just happened...unless she had to try and contain a large amount at once." The closed eyed boy explained, causing black eyes to fall to her scrolls once more with a feeling of distress. "Try...imagining the fire is following your finger instead, and move it around. That shouldn't take much focus." He suggested. She looked at him a moment, to determine if he was attempting to trick her or anything of the sort, before she nodded and returned her finger to in front of the candle. He was right that imagining the fire moving wasn't hard, especially when battle scenarios were almost constantly playing out in her head, but it still felt a little silly. Moving the finger slowly to the right with the image of the fire in her mind following it caused the flame to stretch out sideways, completely against it's natural pattern...her eyes had become red again, not from the light but rather they simply had changed colour. A gasp, focus broken, and the fire returned to normal along with her eyes.

"I-I..." The cloaked teenager's breathing picked up, her mind trying to understand how this was possible.

"I told you." The robed boy laughed again, her eyes snapping to him.

"H-how?" She tried not to sound demanding, but this was unbelievable...his grin and laughter faded again, like it had when he had spoken to her in her tent the night he joined the army.

"You were born with the ability...it's why you prefer to use fire magic, more control." That obviously wasn't the whole story, but trying to pry for more now probably wouldn't get her anywhere...he said he'd explain everything after the war.

"I-is it generic?" That was still a very important question she needed answered, but that wording wasn't quite right. "I-I mean...can M-Morgan do it t-too?" The younger tactician seemed to prefer lightning magic over fire, so it was likely he couldn't, but if the normally cheerful boy had a distinct answer then-

"I doubt it." It wasn't the no uncertainty answer the orange haired teenager had been hoping for, but it would do. Her eyes went back to the candle, which truly looked as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened with it.

"Th-thank-" Turning back to speak her appreciation for the boy's help found him already gone, a part of her mind even wondering if he had ever been there at all...with him it may be hard to tell, he appeared and disappeared so much she was beginning to think seeing him anywhere near her was little more than a figment of her imagination most of the time. Nonetheless, her newly relearned power could be a great asset to the Shepherds, so she returned to practicing it while she had the time.

* * *

 **This is an idea I had when I first made this story, we see from Lucina's flashback that Grima set the world ablaze...I wondered if Grima then has a preference for fire. That thought caused me to give Robin pyrokenetic abilities, though she has no memory of it in this due to the amnesia. The Robin of the original timeline, and before her lost memory, would have used this ability frequently; to keep the fire she summoned with spells towards the intended target and away from innocent people or villages, make sure she had the reading light she needed and as mentioned it often flared or flickered in response to her emotions. Her fire was a big part of who she was, and she would use it in plans and simple everyday things as well. Her eyes go red, like Grima, when she is angry or using her powers of fire. Due to this ability being linked straight to Grima it is not genetic, and as such Morgan doesn't have it. I hope you enjoyed this idea, and hopefully how I have hinted at it up until now. I hope you enjoyed, see you next time.**


	5. The Replacement

**This took significantly longer than I had intended and I ended up separating the chapter that I finished into two, so the next chapter will probably be up in a week or two since it's already done and saved on my laptop...hopefully that will give me time to write chapter 7, which I wrote out already as well but have to rewrite because it's all from Owain and Henry's POV; that isn't an issue exactly, but I want to write a parallel version of this story from Henry's POV in the future. For that matter I have three prequels (on of Robin and Henry as children, one of Owain's childhood, and one of Morgan's timeline), and a sequel planned out for this series (now known as the "Memory" series, which all have names revolving around remembering or forgetting and such). So I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the next. Read and Review if you like!**

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She wanted to forget her attempt to replace him, just to get rid of the horrible pain in her heart from being apart from him.

Owain had begun to carry her on his back when they travelled, replacing Gaius as her carrier...she was originally uncertain about the prospect, even if the blond prince's opinion of her appeared to be drastically different from his cousin's, but he had pointed out that a thief held no place at the front of the group...his skills would be better utilized at the back, hidden from the eyes of the enemy, and allowing him to far more easily sneak around without their knowledge. Morgan was always worried about his mother sleeping so much, but her new carrier did his best to assure her son that she was fine...he may not have trusted the child at first, but he did trust her, so he had quickly become a sort of older brother to the younger boy.

The teenaged myrmidon proved to be exceptionally skilled in battle, in some ways better than his cousin or the adult who had apparently taught him. He was also able to read and understand her strategies, explaining them in simpler terms to his family. This made her job far easier, she had lost count of the times she had tried to explain a plan to Lissa or Sully and they both just stared at her...not that either was stupid, she just had a hard time explaining these things, as even Chrom had trouble understanding at times and he usually did.

"Owain?" Robin awoke at the sound of her son's voice, she hadn't told anyone yet that his voice always broke her from her slumber.

"What is it, mine friend?" Morgan chuckled softly, he always did when he heard the teenager talking...he found the speech amusing, and had even asked the older to start giving him lessons in it. The laughter stopped suddenly.

"...Why do you like Dad?" She felt him stumble just a bit before catching himself, he couldn't just stop after all, they were marching through hostile territory.

"Why does such a harsh question leave thou lips, Morgan?" Of course the young sword user wouldn't know that the barely teen was beginning to gain a dislike for his father.

"Mother has to take care of me all by herself, and he's always avoiding us. I haven't gotten to say a word to him yet, because he always seems to disappear. Mother always seems so lonely without him around...even if he is all he seems to do is laugh at her, and it just makes her more sad." There was a moment of silence, and the tactician couldn't tell why, seeing as she was riding on the back of one and still had her eyes closed.

"...She has regained memories of him?" He sounded surprised, but also...worried? Because Henry wasn't talking to her?

"No." The answer was immediate, and the pigtailed teen knew her son was shaking his head. "She doesn't remember...but he's told her things. The day he joined the army...about how they were best friends, how they travelled together when they were young. Even if she can't remember that stuff, it doesn't mean she doesn't feel lonely and ignored without him." A sigh from the one carrying her.

"You're right, having no memory doesn't change those things." The blond prince agreed, speaking normally for a moment, likely to show that he was taking this seriously. "But...don't you feel those things too? He is your father, you may not remember him but I imagine he spent a great deal of time with you in your time."

"...No." The white haired boy admitted, pausing a moment. "I don't feel lonely about Dad ignoring me...just...upset about how he treats Mother." It sounded as though Morgan was upset that he WASN'T lonely or feeling ignored, she felt bad for him.

"...I wonder why." Owain muttered to himself, sounding concerned.

"I don't know." The slight jolt that Robin felt proved that her carrier hadn't expected his words to be heard.

"But now isn't the time to worry about me. Mother can't even stay awake while we travel, and she's getting more upset about Dad every day. She needs the worry more." Her son added, though she fell back asleep before hearing if the blond prince responded.

¬NF¬

"O-Owain?" Robin called the name as loudly as she could, though it was drowned out easily by the talking people she walked past, scrolls held tightly in her arms.

"How may I assist you Robin?" She jumped and spun at the sudden voice, calming quickly upon seeing that it was the person she was calling for.

"Y-you said...said I t-taught y-you some tactics i-in your t-time, right?" Owain gave a curious nod. "So, c-could you...l-look these plans o-over?" Blue eyes widened as she held the scrolls out to him, blinking several times as he tried to comprehend what was happening.

"...I'm uncertain my input will be of much value, you only taught me the basics. Fredrick or Virion would be much more suited, perhaps Inigo had the teachings of his father as well but I am unable to confirm that." The black eyed teenager tried to stop the look of hurt off her face, knowing the time traveller meant no insult by the statement...but she had this ridiculous notion of trying to prove her plans held up to his version of her, the version with all her memories...

"A-alright." She forced a smile, learned from wishing to keep Lissa from worrying about her too much, and turned on her heel to walk off. A hand grabbed her wrist suddenly, stopping her motion, and looking back revealed it to be the boy she had been talking to.

"Robin..." The blue eyed boy was frowning now, and though it wasn't clear how she had done it the tactician immediately felt bad for making him upset.

"I-I'm-" The orange haired teenager was cut off before she could finish.

"Well?" She gave him a look of confusion. "Do you intend to have me review these tactics or not?" Her eyes widened as the blond prince smiled at her, causing the tactician to smile widely back.

"Come o-on. We'll need s-somewhere quieter." She turned the wrist in the young myrmidon's grasp so she was now holding his wrist, which surprised him but he didn't complain, beginning to drag him away from the bustle of their fellow Shepherds. Neither saw the always closed eyes open and follow them as they left.

¬NF¬

"These all feel familiar to me...in a good way, I assure you Robin." They were sitting in her tent, sitting on the cot as the younger read through the scrolls and scrolls of plans. "You've retained your skill in tactics even with your lost memories." Owain stated, causing another wide grin and look of relief to spread across the older's face.

"I-I'm glad to hear th-that." Robin reached for the plans, to put them away until needed, but a pale male hand moved her head up to look at it's owner. "O-Owain?" He was frowning again, how had she upset him?

"Robin...why are you so intent to prove thine worth against a version of yourself with a great deal of years more experience?" Blue eyes stared into black for only a moment, the older pulling away sharply with wide eyes that looked almost afraid.

"W-What...w-what are y-you t-talking about?" She tried to make it sound like an accusatory demand, but her increased stutter gave away her sudden worry.

"I trust you with mine life Robin...I ask only that you try your best, and not attempt to lie to me." The orange haired teenager looked down, guilt flooding her.

"...How a-am I supposed to...t-to keep e-everyone safe?" The question was quiet, and while the blond heard it that didn't mean he understood why it was being asked.

"Wha-"

"You s-said I was distant f-from everyone b-but you and H-Henry. D-despite that I-I fought for th-them...but I let them die!" Tears filled her eyes as they shifted from black to red, the candle they had been using to read the now forgotten scrolls almost flickering out.

"Robin-"

"I couldn't even save Lady Emmeryn! Your Robin had no warning, but I let her walk into what I KNEW was a trap! I let us ALL walk into a trap because I thought we could save her, but I failed!" The pigtailed teenager's voice got higher, the candle's flame now flaring up as her anger at herself began to seep through, the stutters disappearing. "Chrom and Lissa...they gave me everything I have, everything they had to give, but I couldn't even save the only family they had left!" She was getting worked up now, and her voice only continued to get higher.

"Lucina told us time travellers the events leading to Aunt Emmeryn's death here Robin, there was nothing you could-" The myrmidon tried to calm the tactician, but her eyes seemed to almost glow as purple looking tears spilled from them, showing his attempts to help were doing the opposite.

"But there WAS!" She disagreed harshly. "If I still had my memories I would have remembered that I can control fire! I could have moved it to kill the Risen archers!" She didn't yet know that Grima tended to use her negative emotions to try and control her, didn't know he had anything to do with her...and the boy couldn't bring himself to tell her, especially not when she was already so emotional.

"You knew not where they were-"

"That doesn't-" While the cloaked teenager had been cutting him off repeatedly, anger growing quickly, she hadn't noticed her voice rising meant the rest of the army could hear them.

"Robin?" Hearing the voice of the blonde princess caused the older to freeze, eyes instantly returning to black.

"How long have you kept those kinds thoughts to yourself Robin?" Hearing the king certainly didn't relax her any, body refusing to turn and look at them even if she wanted to.

"L-Lissa...Ch-Chrom..." Robin's voice was barely above a shaky whisper, terror causing her body to tremble. Her breathing had picked up, but she still felt like she couldn't get any air in her lungs.

 _"You know these bonds with them are nothing more than lies."_ The voice in her head that spoke her repressed thoughts and feelings echoed through her mind, and the tactician quickly shook her head in an attempt to shut it up. _"You know they hate you, they blame you...everyone does. How can they really trust you when you couldn't even save someone important to an entire kingdom?"_

"S-stop..." A soft beg to the voice, not wanting to hear these things...if anyone now in her tent was talking she couldn't hear them over what was inside her head.

 _"They keep you around because you're the only tactician they have. They'd get rid of you for Virion in a moment if his tactics didn't sacrifice unnecessary people."_ Black eyes clenched shut, trying to focus on the world around her.

"No o-one is u-unnecessary." She disagreed, everyone here had someone that cared about them and that they cared about, she refused to think of them as anything less...but the voice just laughed.

 _"Everything in this world is nothing more than a series of patterns and numbers, people included. That's why you can make these 'brilliant tactics', because you are able to break enemy and ally alike down into what they truly are. They hate your guts anyway, why not sacrifice one or two for the 'greater good'?_ "

"N-no!" The sudden yell caused everyone around her to jump. "Leave m-me alone!" It took her only a moment to slip past Chrom and Lissa, out of the tent, and away from the others with prying eyes that all called after her.

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 **For anyone wondering, the 'voice' is indeed Grima speaking to Robin and trying to get her to care less about the people around her and whatnot. As for what is happening with Emmeryn...while they don't really bring it up in the game; as long as you played really well on Classic Mode or just on Casual Mode, Emmeryn will be the first time that one of the Avatar's plans have failed to save everyone. Considering that this is someone extremely important to people who are important to said Avatar, as well as an entire country, I feel like this would weigh a lot heavier on their mind than what we see in game. For Robin here, she was able to partly accept that she did everything she could to save Emmeryn and it failed, no one is perfect...but after learning about her control of fire she begins doubting again, blaming her lost memories for what happened. This will perhaps be brought up once or twice more, to show her growing attachment to the people she is currently around. Hope you all enjoyed, see you all next time!**


	6. The Guilt

**Is it any actual surprise to anyone that I'm a huge Undertale fan, more due to the fandom, theories, fanfiction and the like than the game itself? I DO like the game, don't get me wrong, but I love all the development and the like the fandom have given to these characters...if anyone is wondering why I'm mentioning it, it's because I've been writing an Underfell (if you don't know it's not important) story that would be a sequel to an Undertale story I haven't even written out instead of working on the next chapter of this. So yeah, fail there. Sorry. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this. Red and review if you want!**

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She still remembered the horrible emotional pain when she had run away from her friends and family, unable to handle the guilt of what she had allowed to happen...but things hadn't turned out as she had expected, in the end.

"Robin!" Owain called out for the teenager, looking for her with the rest of the Shepherds...he pushed away the nagging guilt that this was his own fault, because he had pushed her to answer a question she obviously hadn't been ready to, and focused on finding her. "Robin?" His oldest cousin had to be borderline forced by their family to look for the tactician, he had heard her muttering that they wouldn't have to worry about Grima if the child-like teenager died, but he and Cynthia had quickly reminded her of the other's accomplishments and how greatly her father relied on the tactical genius. He didn't care what she thought, the dragon vessel dying would not help any of them.

"Caw!" Turning his head sharply towards the sound caused the blond prince to find a crow, cawing and seemingly trying to get his attention.

"...Henry?" It wasn't the first time the dark mage had used a crow to retrieve him or lead somewhere, but that had been in the future...this version had yet to do it until now.

"Caaaaw!" It seemed the animal was becoming inpatient with the myrmidon, causing him to nod and take a step towards the black creature. The movement caused the bird to take to the air and fly, the blue eyed boy quickly running after it.

¬NF¬

Owain stopped when the crow landed, looking around for Henry or Robin...seeing neither caused his attention to turn back to the black creature, who was hopping back and forth but refused to move any further forward.

"Robin..." He recognized the action as that of an animal who was closer to the tactician than it wanted to be, they almost all preferred to be ten or more feet away, and even her once best friend's precious feathered friends were no different...she had once said humans were the only ones who couldn't sense what was within her. The bird was in the air again now but still wouldn't move forward, causing it to sporadically try to keep in the air without moving closer. "I thank thee Henry's crow comrade." Nodding his head slightly, he softly walked in the direction the flyer refused to go...there was a tree stump four or so feet tall, and as the myrmidon silently walked around it he found there to be a hole revealing the inside to be hollow, with the person he was looking for curled into a ball and sobbing heavily but quietly. "I'm so sorry Robin..." The image of an older woman, long orange pigtails reaching to the back of her knees, clinging to Henry's shirt as she sobbed uncontrollably entered the blond prince's mind...he had been hoping to never see her like that ever again.

"L-leave..." Tear filled black eyes looked up at him, body wracked with sobs as she hugged her knees to her chest, looking so much like the child many assumed she was.

"I refuse to leave you Robin." The blue eyed boy disagreed, moving just a little closer...the dragon vessel tried to pull back, but her back was already against the stump so she couldn't actually move any.

"Y-you'll e-end up d-dead..." He had never seen the cloaked teenager so scared before, what made it even worse was that fear he saw was entirely focused on the thought of her abilities failing to protect the people she cared about.

"That is untrue." The sword user had seen for himself that the person before him had saved people time and time again.

"L-Lucina...sh-she told us a-about...about H-Henry a-and someone e-else's death." The bloodshot eyes of the female made the guilt eating at the boy all the stronger.

"The other person of which mine cousin spoke was-" He didn't know why she was bringing up his version of herself, but she had to be told that the person who had 'died' was her.

"A-and y-your future...a-all your p-parents a-are dead. I-I couldn't s-save them e-either. I-if that me w-was so u-useless-"

"You're not useless!" Owain hadn't meant to yell, but he refused to let her call any version of herself that word, especially his own...the child-like teenager flinched at the sudden anger and volume of his voice. A deep breath helped to calm him a bit. "I request thou never refer to thineself with such demeaning and incorrect words again, Robin." Robin shook her head, probably not able to understand why he insisted this when she believed herself to be such words.

"B-but I-"

"I believe I finally understand the answer to mine question earlier." Black eyes blinked at the blue eyed prince, who gave her a slight and sad smile. "Why are you so intent to prove thine worth against a version of yourself with a great deal of years more experience?" He repeated, quickly cutting off any attempt at a response by the person he was speaking to. "You spoke of Aunt Emmeryn earlier, and now of my future. You are afraid, no terrified, of losing people...of letting any member of the Shepherds, or innocent people, die. You believe thine future self to have failed everyone, and see yourself as destined to fail even more so with your non-existent memory and years of youth...am I correct, mine friend?" The orange haired teenager's eyes looked at the ground, making the tears still filling and falling from them all the more apparent.

"E-everyone died a-and...and a-all you children h-have h-had l-life so h-hard b-because of i-it." The blond prince nodded.

"I have no intention of denying the hardships mine comrades and I have faced." He agreed, holding up a hand to stop her from speaking as he slowly forced a smile. "However, I can assure you that none of that is thine fault Robin...as I attempted to explain a minute ago, the person who died shortly after Henry...that was you." Shock seemed to finally stop the dragon vessel's tears, body even seeming to freeze from it. "Henry was killed by a member of the Grimleal, hidden from view by a spell...no one noticed something abnormal until it was too late, and...and his body had fallen to the ground. You died a few minutes later with only grief in your heart. Those of our parents who were observant or could sense magic all partly blamed themselves for failing to notice the threat, my parents included. You were not around to protect anyone after Henry died, so judging yourself by their deaths has no point." The forced smile fell from the myrmidon's face as the memories of that day filled his mind, causing him to forcefully shake his head to help push it back for the time being. "You spoke of using your fire to save mine aunt earlier, however controlling it out of your view exhausted you quickly and left you open for attacks. You knew not that the Risen archers would appear, had they not your plan would have succeeded, even mine cousin admitted that...the Shepherds, and even we, had no way of knowing that people could call forth Risen. The you of which I knew would have thought of almost the exact same plan with the same belief that you would prevail...after all, Risen did not exist in our world until after Grima awoke. It was our travel through time which brought them here." More guilt flooded his body...how many innocent people had been killed by Risen, unprepared for their sudden appearance?

"O-Owain..." The tactician's tears had truly stopped, but his own were beginning to fill his eyes.

"Though your behaviour is drastically different, shyness and friendliness now your defining traits, you and mine Robin are truly very much alike." The memory of the ever so soft smile he had treasured from his version of this teenager had faded from his mind over time, but the sword user could still remember when she would place her hand over his head whenever he was upset.

 _~"You're still just a child Owain...your problems may seem world ending, but I promise most of them mean very little in the end. Henry and I will always be here to help, as will your parents, and even the friends you make...tell us when you are upset, when something is wrong...even if we aren't able to help just telling us can make you feel better. Bottling everything up inside never helps."~_ He remembered crying when she and the dark mage had died, demanding to know how they could help with a problem or listen to him speak of them if the two were dead...needless to say, he never got an answer.

"Owain!" The melodramatic boy's eyes snapped to the person calling him, realizing the female had come out of her hiding spot and was gripping his wrists in an attempt to return him to the world around him.

"I...I apologize. I became lost in mine memories." She looked a little calmer now, releasing his wrists...he went emotionally numb when this child-like teenager hugged him.

"I-if you need to cry...th-than you can. Bottling up y-your emotions never helps a-anyone." That was it, his own teary floodgates burst open as she softly hummed a calming melody, it had sounded far too much like the woman of his memory.

"Please Robin, I beg of thee...never speak such cruel things of thineself, never doubt or blame thineself...and above all, please...tell those who care for you of thine worries and problems. I promise it will help you feel better, even if they are unable to truly help." The Ylissian royal wrapped his arms around the Plegian orphan, clinging to her as if afraid she would disappear if he let go.

"...I-I will...I p-promise." They stood like that for a long time, both helping to calm the worries and horrid memories of the other, before finally heading back to the camp.

¬NF¬

"Robin!" The one being called gripped the sleeve of the boy she was walking with, trying mostly to hide behind him as her friends ran to them.

 _"They still hate you. Owain's 'advice' is pointless for you. He only 'cares' because he knew a different you, a better you."_ Robin's hand clung tighter to the short sleeve of the blond prince, wishing the voice would just leave her alone. Looking up in hopes of being reassured, she saw that he was smiling down at her despite that she was hiding from even his family...the tactician wondered if perhaps he had done the same behind her as a child, bringing back a fond memory.

"Mother!" She barely had time to turn her head before her son crashed into her, arms tight around her body. "Are you hurt Mother?!" Morgan questioned frantically, and the child-like teenager realized that she must have worried him greatly with her sudden disappearance.

"I-I'm fine Sweetie." The now familiar nickname seemed to calm the black eyed boy, at least a little, as he finally pulled back and wiped away the tears she hadn't noticed him shed until now.

"That was incredibly reckless Robin." Fredrick was not the person she had been expecting to speak first, causing her own black eyes to stare at him.

 _"Of course it was reckless, they need their 'brilliant tactician' for anyone to have even a chance of survival...even if you failed to save the one person who mattered."_ Her eyes fell down again as her hand moved to grip the teenaged myrmidon's sleeve, with him making no move to stop her.

"I...I'm s-sorry..." The orange haired teenager apologized softly, refusing to look at the Shepherds.

"Robin...you know we don't blame you, right?" Lissa asked, causing the other teenager's head to snap up to look at her with wide eyes.

"Emm was...a wonderful sister and ruler, Lissa and I will always miss her. But we have never once blamed you for her death." Chrom tried to assure his friend, who stared at him with wide eyes from behind his nephew.

"Nobody blames you Robin...and I'll kick the ass of anyone who says otherwise!" Sully grinned, too blunt a person to try sounding more like the royal she now was...the tactician was about to smile when the voice spoke again.

 _"Your so called 'friends' are rather talented actors...they have to keep in your good graces though, or you might get rid of them. So saying they don' t blame you is the easiest thing they can do."_ That earlier almost smile fell again, eyes darting down to look away and hand tightening around the sleeve of the younger teen beside her.

"Y-you don't...h-hate me?" Everyone moved back, eyes wide and some with a hand over their chest, as though they had been hit.

"How could you think that Robin?!" The fact that Lucina of all people, who had made it quite clear that she didn't like the cloaked teenager, was now yelling at her was extremely confusing to say the least. Looking up at the currently yelling girl's cousin revealed him to be just as confused as the shy teenager.

"Lucina?" Owain questioned the blue haired woman, even the other time travellers seemed to be wondering as to the reason for their leader's sudden outburst.

"I've made it clear that I do not like, nor trust you, right?" The blue eyed princess seemed to have, at least partly, forced herself to calm down.

"Y-yes!" Robin squeaked when the blue adoring royal girl glared at her.

"...Even I don't hate you for what happened. You...you couldn't have done anything else, no matter what you seem to think." The once masked girl stated, taking another breath. "Do you understand?" A quick nod was all it took to end the conversation, the Falchion-owning teen spinning on her heel and walking away. The voice inside was silent, perhaps too shocked by what had just happened to speak.

"...Y-your cousin i-is scary O-Owain." The tactician murmured.

"She certainly can be." The myrmidon agreed, and after a moment a soft smile spread across the face of the one he was looking at.

"You...you h-have a good f-family Owain." They both knew the blue wearing princess hadn't said any of that because she cared about the child-like teenager, but rather it was because her family cared.

"They are thine family as well Robin, even if mine cousin isn't always intent to admit it." He smiled back and after a moment her smile widened, finally looking happy again.

"Y-yeah...my family t-too."

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 **This is no where near the end of Robin's self doubt, but it's the beginning of her healing. The next chapter hopefully won't take too long. There was something I wanted to say down here last week, but I can't remember...oh well. See you soon!**


	7. The Control

**Hey look, I finally finished this chapter! Yay! That...actually didn't take as long as I thought it would, luckily. This chapter is around a thousand words or more shorter than most of the chapters, but I was expecting it to be, due to it having to be written from Robin's perspective. I don't know how long until I write out the next chapter, but I have a basic plan for it so hopefully that'll help. Anyway, hope you enjoy. Read and review if you can!**

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She couldn't believe that she had forgotten how crucial control was for her, especially of her emotions.

Robin's carrier let her down once they reached the foot of Mila Tree in Valm, finding their enemy around it and trying to get to the manakete on top. Say'ri was obviously panicking, which made sense considering they were going to try and kill what amounted to a demi-god to her people.

"Say'ri, calm down." Chrom said, placing a hand on her shoulder before gesturing to his tactician. "Robin will come up with a plan." He assured the Chon'sin princess, as said child-like teenager's eyes scanned the battle field. Fliers, axes, bows, swords and some thieves with a general as their leader; one of the Pegasus knights was holding a beast killer, putting any riding units or those like Panne and Nah in obvious danger...currently three bow users, which their fliers couldn't approach...the falcon knight with a mend had to be gotten rid of quickly.

"Chrom, Sully, focus on the warriors." Owain relayed the order for her, the king and queen nodded.

"You got it!" Sully smiled widely, exuding confidence...she may be no good against axes but she was more than capable of protecting her husband.

"Maribelle, focus on taking down that falcon knight with the mend, use Elwind or higher...Vaike goes with her, make sure you don't lose your axe, help her take out the pegasus knights after that before focusing on healing."

"Of course Darling." Maribelle agreed, pulling her own husband onto her horse.

"Say'ri, please protect Lissa as she deals with the last falcon knight, then she will focus on healing just like Maribelle."

"I would be honoured." The black haired princess bowed slightly before moving to her assigned place.

"Olivia, we'll need you to dance, it looks like reinforcements might show up if we take too long. Virion, keep everything off her."

"But of course!" The grey haired man had no reason to complain, this was basically always his job...he understood when to attack and when to retreat, after all.

"Cynthia, Lucina...the bow knights and snipers, Lucina will distract them while Cynthia swoops in."

"Can do!" Cynthia looked proud to be brought into a fight, and while sending her after those who could shoot her down may seem like a poor plan she had the blue haired princess to keep their attention from her.

"Everyone else, back to the caravan." The blond prince gave the order, but knew full well that he wasn't expected to follow it, just as Henry wouldn't ever just stay at the caravan.

"Morgan, t-to the caravan." Robin repeated to her son.

"No." Morgan disagreed, shaking his head in response and refusing to move. "I'm not leaving you alone anymore. I'm helping, I'm fighting too." She had never heard her son sound so resolute, so determined...so confident.

"Morgan, she won't-" The young myrmidon was trying to talk 'reason' into the white haired tactician, he must have known how scared the younger boy's mother was of having him fight...but she couldn't hide him away forever.

"Stay b-behind me." It was hard, but she would let him fight...just so long as she could keep an eye on him. The battle started, everyone doing as they had been ordered, with the four who had not been given orders working to take out the rest of the enemy...flames snaked across the tree's branches, freaking out most comrades and enemies alike, but served to keep the enemies where the child-like teenager wanted. The sounds of metal clashing and spells being cast filled her ears, an odd sense of calm washing over her...she controlled this battle, no matter what the opposing general thought.

"Morgan!" The calm was shattered at the sound of her son's name being called, red eyes snapping to him just in time to see the time travelling blue eyed boy deflect a short spear that would have skewered through the innocent black eyed boy. Suddenly all she could hear was the thundering of her heart in her ears, everything around her felt so warm and the thought of being without him after the time they'd spent together was...unacceptable.

"G...ack..." The orange haired teenager heard a voice her mind recognized as Lucina call something out in a panic, but she couldn't make out the actual words...her senses were becoming fuzzy, it was hard to focus on anything now, though her mind was running into overdrive. She could feel her flames moving, trapping the enemy and becoming pillars to catch those pesky fliers...if they cried out as they died she couldn't hear them, didn't really care to either. Her vision had become a pure, bright red that somehow seemed to shift around despite no other colour or shade in view now, her cheeks felt odd as that red vision somehow felt like it tripled. Fire was snaking up her body, covering her like some sort of armour, yet it never burned her or her clothing.

"Your blood and bones will be ash for this. I will not allow the attempt to spill the blood shared with me, all those who try must be punished." The pigtailed teenager didn't realize she had spoken, her voice echoing deeply in her own head...it sounded so much lower, louder, and unrecognizable, she couldn't understand how it sounded so calm when she felt this all consuming rage. A step towards the spire that now engulfed the Valmese army, raising the hand that had once held her Elfire tome...the cloaked teenager could feel the flames become hotter and flare up in response to her movement, but even that odd sixth sense was beginning to fade. No longer could she see, hear, smell, taste or feel...the five senses that grounded her to the world had become numb, and it was even becoming hard to think.

 _Why...am I still fighting?_ Robin wondered, feeling...exhausted. _Is that even...what I'm doing? Fighting? But why fight in the first place?_ She felt like she was slipping into unconsciousness, but it felt different from when she fell asleep or worked herself too hard and her body forced her to rest...this felt comfortable, warm and overall pleasant...why would the tactician disagree when she was finally getting the rest she deserved? _Just...a few minutes..._ It's not like it would hurt, nothing could possibly hurt the black eyed girl when she felt like this.

"...bin..." A...voice? That was wierd, she couldn't hear anything a moment ago. Suddenly her back and waist felt too hot, like they were on fire, but she couldn't move. "Your cage is here Robin, it's ok now." Cage? What cage? She wasn't some bird...was she? Was the voice even calling out to her? She couldn't remember her name, or even what she looked like anymore. "The outside world can't hurt you anymore..." Had she been hurt? Was that why she couldn't remember anything, could barely feel anything? "These bars will bind you, protect you, and ground you." The voice sounded so familiar, so calming...she wished she knew who it was. "Life is just so GRIM without you, remember?"

 _Henry..._ The name came to her immediately, only he would make such a joke; Robin hated them, they made her uncomfortable, but that was what made her recognize the dark mage...she tried to laugh at the irony, but it came out as more of a dry chuckle. The extra heat the pigtailed teenager now recognized as his arms around her and chest against her back moved to six circle spots on her back, three sets with a circle on her right and left side each; one barely below her shoulder-blades, one just above her hips and the last right between them. The flame armour covering her must have begun to recede, because the cloaked teenager was beginning to become cold. She tried to keep awake despite how utterly exhausted her body felt, with her ability to think having returned she couldn't help but worry her friends had been hurt during whatever had happened to her, but the moment the cold fully covered her she was asleep.

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 **If you have very little clue as to what is going on in this chapter don't feel bad, it's MEANT to be rather confusing because neither does Robin. To put it simply Grima was taking the life energy of the people she was killing to give her his six eyes and wings before taking over (there wasn't nearly enough to get his full form back), with the comfortable and whatnot feeling of 'unconsciousness' being her control of her body...luckily Henry managed to get through to her and she fought back control subconsciously thanks to him. Of course her body really IS exhausted after that, so she ended up losing consciousness anyway once she fully got control of her body back. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and see you soon!**


	8. The Illness

**This actually didn't take nearly as long as I expected it to, and it's a lot longer than I anticipated, so...go me? This chapter takes place at least a few days after the last, with Morgan having temporarily taken his mother's position as tactician, with the help of Owain and Henry if needed. It isn't actually mentioned here, but they managed to save Tiki and have her join the party after Robin lost consciousness, so she will be a character I will bring in later...and no one died while Robin slept. This chapter focuses more on the past of Owain and Morgan's seperate Robins, with some of Henry and this Robin, plus some of Henry's humor and attempts to make up for avoiding her earlier. I think that's about it, so hope you enjoy. Read and review if you can!**

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She begged Naga to let her forget the awful 'illness' brought on by her lose of control, but she never did.

It felt like an eternity to Robin when she finally awoke, her senses slowly returning to her. Her eyes tried to open but she quickly found them unable to, a spike of panic filling her...arms, legs, mouth, nothing would move! Her whole body ached, but her eyes, cheeks, back and mark on the back of her hand were the worst.

"You're...certain she will be...alright?" Owain? Who was he talking to?

"I'm sure." If the tactician could open her eyes they would have widened, because the voice that responded was Henry.

"You've really never seen her like this?" He sounded surprised.

"Never." The myrmidon answered. "The closest was when the guards attacked you two, they hurt her so she started...but nothing came of it, no real change. And the day she..." He trailed off, whatever he remembered, it was clear that he didn't want to talk about it.

"And do you remember anything like this?" Was there someone else here too? Several moments of silence was the only response she knew of.

"Mother was never like that." Morgan was here too? The pigtailed teenager realized she shouldn't have been surprised, considering he was her son, but for some reason she was. "Mother was always in total control...she told me what she was, but I never saw any proof beyond her eyes going red and her control of fire." So, his version of his mother was always in control...an interesting fact. "If I think hard enough...I can vaguely remember someone making Mother really angry with them, the fire of the torches along the wall flaring up. I...I can't remember what they said, or who they were, but she called for the king and ordered him to keep his 'subordinates in line'."

"Such a response was abnormal?" The blond asked.

"Yes...I remember being surprised...being scared of Mother..." The black eyed teenager could hear the shudder, the fear in his voice.

"Nya ha. Of course you were scared, you probably never saw her mad before." It sounded almost like the dark mage was trying to cheer up or reassure their son, but that made no sense with how he had acted towards the boy before...then again, neither did the fact that he was with the other two and apparently looking after her.

"Were you scared the first time you saw Mother mad?" The question was spoken softly, as if afraid of the answer...another laugh came as a response.

"I don't feel fear." The words were spoken so casually the cloaked teenager almost didn't hear the actual words.

"D-Dad?" Now the white haired tactician was scared again...she could almost feel the closed eyed boy's frown.

"Well...I don't feel fear for me." He corrected, pausing and sounding like he was trying to keep his voice steady. "I fear...I'm scared of Robin dying, or of her losing herself. I...I've gotten into trouble a lot for risking myself to save her." The robed boy had risked himself for her? Even after she'd gotten mad at him?

"I'm rather certain we all fear that possibility, Henry." The blue eyed boy stated, silence filling the area. "...What will happen to Robin, after coming so close?"

"She'll start off sleeping for several days straight, as you two have seen." Several days? Had the orange haired teenager already been sleeping for DAYS?! ...Oh gods, what if the Shepherds were attacked while she was asleep?! Was someone hurt because she'd been sleeping, was someone DEAD?! "It will be hard for her to move even after she wakes up, her entire body will be in pain...cheeks, eyes, back and that mark will be the worst." No, no...surely they'd be talking about someone being dead...her once travelling companion was exactly right about her pain though, did he realize she was awake now? "Once she wakes up we'll feed her...soups, sauces...easy things that don't take any chewing." If it was hard to move chewing and swallowing probably would be too. "She'll...she'll throw most of it back up, and still spend most of her time asleep." Throwing up didn't appeal to Robin at all, but it couldn't really be helped from the sound of it.

"Does she...have to?" Morgan asked quietly, sounding so sad...

"Her body will try to get all the energy it can from the food, but her body will also reject anything normal because of what happened to her...she shouldn't WRETCH-ject it for more than a few days." Henry was rather obvious in his attempt to make everyone feel better this time, and as confused as she was...she would have smiled if she could move her face enough to do so, even if it was an awful pun. "She'll be able to move some and maybe even use a bit of magic, once she can keep food down...but we'll need to keep carrying her for a bit. Nya ha! She'll DRIVE herself to the dirt otherwise!" Despite the fact that all of them thought she was still unconscious, and the joke was just terrible, her son and the blond gave a soft laugh.

"Henry!" Owain was trying to stifle his sudden laughter...

"D-Dad!" Morgan choked on his own laughter, sounding happier than she had heard him in a long time.

 _Henry...thank you._ Their laughter sounded so good, so calming, relaxing...she didn't notice her eyes slowly shut.

¬NF¬

The next time Robin awoke she was able to flutter her eyes open, though it was certainly difficult...slowly she was able to move her mouth, make sounds until words finally formed.

"He...llo..."

"Mother!" The surprise was clear in Morgan's voice, his voice quiet. She moved her eyes to look towards him, noticing that she was currently lying on her cot within her tent...footsteps echoed in the tactician's ears as her son left her vision, the rustle of tent material revealed that he must have left the tent. "Go. Get Dad and Owain." A soft order, barely heard by her, was stated to...someone?

"Caw!" Oh, it was one of Henry's crows. A flap of wings signalled it's take off, and a moment later the black eyed boy had returned.

"It's dinner time, Owain and Dad went to get the three of us food...we all decided someone had to stay here and watch you encase you woke up." He smiled at his mother, who had her mouth twitch twice before she managed a smile. The title of the dark mage was spoken with the same familial compassion her own title held, along with the name of the blond prince...her once travelling companion must have been taking great care of the boy, cheering him up and the like while she was asleep. "Here, let me help you up...can't eat lying down." The white haired tactician carefully moved his mother's torso until she was sitting upright, then sat behind her to use the side of his body to a flat surface for her to lean on.

"Tha...nk... you... Mor...gan..." It was still far more trouble to speak than she would prefer, but at least they would know she was awake this time.

"Robin! Mine friend, you have once more returned to the world of the waking!" The tent flap moved aside to reveal the earlier mentioned young myrmidon carrying two plates of food, who sounded so happy the orange haired teenager couldn't help but laugh softly...at least her throat didn't hurt too much when she spoke or laughed.

"Owain, quiet. We don't want anyone to know she's awake until she's well enough to move around on her own, remember?" Henry stepped in after him with his own plate, frowning with open eyes staring briefly at his back...while the blue eyed boy didn't see the look it was apparent that he knew it was happening, considering he shuddered slightly, the eyes closed again and the white haired dark mage's seemingly perpetual smile returned. "There was a kidnapping among us days ago." He stated simply, looking straight at her.

"Wh...wha-" The black eyes of the teenaged girl widened in worry.

"But it seems she finally woke up." Eyes of the time travellers snapped between the once friends, getting more and more concerned as the silence stretched on. Finally soft laughter came from her, causing their eyes to widen and even one of the usually closed eyes to open slightly in surprise. After a few deep breaths she managed to calm the unexpected laughter.

"I-I've...been a-asleep...for d-days...and you g-go...with...K-KIDNAPPING?" The laughter came back, though she still wasn't sure why she found his puns funny now to begin with. "Naps d-don't...l-last for...DAYS...H-Henry!" A blink, confusion spreading across their faces along with surprise.

"You...Robin, will you not point out that you are no child?" When the cloaked teenager thought about it, she normally did point out that she wasn't a child...but, perhaps because it was intended to be a joke or because said joke was rather awful, the wrongful description didn't actually bother her. She shrugged.

"So, what would you say then?" The robed boy asked.

"I...would t-tell a...j-joke about m-my...cot, b-but...i-it hasn't b-been...made up y-yet." The males all stared at her, and the lack of sound from them began to make her uncomfortable...then the Plegian male and Ylissian royal began laughing loudly, causing another smile from the pyrokenetic teenager.

"That was amazing Robin!" The fire loving mage grinned, making sure to keep his voice down.

"I haven't heard such a joke from thee in ages!" The hero-to-be laughed as well, giving his fellow future child his plate before the laughter rocking his body caused his hand to release the plate...the younger made no response to the joke, merely beginning to eat.

"...Our food is going to get cold." Morgan pointed out after several moments, the others regaining their composure with a nod.

"The crow told me you were awake, so I brought you food." Henry pulled a small jar of apple sauce from under his shirt, along with a spoon. He opened it and dipped the spoon in, filling it with the sauce as he moved closer, pulling it out and pushing it towards the still softly laughing teenager.

"I-I'm not...a-a ch-" A frown appeared on Robin's face, moving her head

to the side in an attempt to keep him from feeding her like a baby.

"You're not a child." The dark mage agreed. "But you don't have the energy to feed yourself right now...please, let me help." After a moment the female tactician moved her face back towards him, opening her mouth despite looking at the ground as if embarrassed or self-conscious...she may actually have been.

"A-aaa..." She made her discomfort apparent, but her agreement was also obvious.

"Thank you." The closed eyed boy smiled ever so slightly, pushing the utensil into her mouth than back out once it closed before going back into the food as she swallowed. A few bites before her the black eyed girl's body instinctively straightened slightly and those eyes widened, the utensil being dropped into the food as a bucket was pulled up onto her lap...a second later everything she had just eaten came back up, gasping for air once it was over.

"Mother?!" Equally black eyes looked at her in fear, bottom lip trembling.

"F-fine..." The orange haired teenager assured him as her body calmed from it's experience...the white haired dark mage moved the bucket back to the floor before carefully used his free hand to push her chin up to look at him and returned to feeding her as though nothing happened. He had said he hadn't seen her this bad before, but his lack of any real response meant this 'illness' was one he had encountered enough to become numb to any worry or disgust.

"She'll be fine Morgan." The assurance her son from his father was simple, no jokes as he fed his mother, perhaps too focused on the task at hand. "...You two go get her some water." The usual jokester placed the jar on his lap, moving his now free arm to hold her upright so their son could leave.

"Come on Morgan." Owain had been eating until her food came back up, sitting on the floor and placing the food on the bookcase but now standing and reaching for the younger's hand...the white haired tactician nodded, placing his own plate on the bookcase and the two left the tent.

"...They don't have the STOMACH to handle this." Henry gave a strained smile and she wondered just how used to this he really was, and how much of it was an act for the benefit of the other two. It became a rather unpleasant cycle; a few bites before the girl would throw most of it back up...at least she could tell a bit of it was staying down, giving her just a bit more strength.

"Here." The children returned, the older holding out a canteen. As soon as she saw it her throat felt so dry in throbbed, momentarily wondering if the sight had caused the feeling or just made her notice it. It was opened and brought to the child-like teenager's lips, she managed to get a gulp before the one currently taking care of her pulled it away.

"If she tries to drink too much at once she'll just throw it up." He pointed out before anyone could actually question him, closing the source of water and grabbing the food again.

"But Mother hasn't had the chance to drink in days." Morgan pointed out.

"She'll wake up more often now, this won't be the only time she'll be awake today." Water after she'd throw up was added to the cycle...eventually she finished the small jar and was laid down to sleep again.

¬NF¬

The 'ill' tactician awoke more and more frequently as the next few days passed...eating and drinking more with almost each time awake, beyond when she would briefly awaken during a fight, and soon she was able to mostly keep solid foods like jerky down. The Shepherds mostly thought she was still in some sort of coma, but the three who knew better had reasons to keep her awakenings to themselves. Another couple days and she should be able to walk around on her own at least a little bit, according to her once travelling companion.

Eyes fluttered open to find themself in the middle of a battle, her son and his father were back to back with the younger calling out orders to the Shepherds currently fighting...while the orders weren't as full-proof as most of her own they were still great plans in their own right and people didn't seem to be getting hurt much. Robin was currently being carried on the back of Owain, who was with the caravan instead of the main fight, her hood pulled up to cover her face in shadows...it would keep anyone from noticing her eyes open. The child-like teenager had been considering simply returning to sleep, as the group seemed to be doing fine without her, until her eyes caught sudden movement in the sky...a falcon knight, diving towards an unknowing Lucina.

"Owain...turn left." Though surprised she was awake, the myrmidon did as ordered, the orange haired teenager pulling out the Arcfire tome she kept hidden within her cloak for emergencies. Her eyes had already become red upon seeing the threat, sending the high powered spell at the enemy...the pain that had been dulling over time flared up again, causing her vision to blacken with her head feeling like it was spinning, it was almost enough to make her sick...the screech of the falicorn and its rider was her only sign that the tactician had hit her target, eyes back to their original colour.

"Robin?!" It couldn't be helped that the king had seen the spell and the casting circles.

"Henry won't be happy, mine friend...he wished for thine friends and family to believe thou comatose until well enough to move." The blond prince pointed out.

"...I-I know." The pigtailed teenager agreed with a sigh.

"Nor did he wish thou to use thine magic." He added, getting a hum in return.

"Had t-to...save...L-Lucina." She explained softly, a sudden gust of wind blowing her hood back...the boy gave a sigh of his own.

"I suppose it can't be helped." The girl gave a sheepish smile in return, though it couldn't be seen.

"That's her! Their tactician! Capture her, Emperor Walhart has ordered it!" All the enemies that had been going after the caravan turned their attention to her and her carrier.

"Mother!" And now the white haired tactician was worried about her.

"Robin?" His older brother-figure questioned what they were supposed to do now.

"Th-this wasn't...part o-of...my p-plan..." The black eyed teenager admitted, watching the enemy getting quickly closer to them.

"Focus on your fight Morgan!" She didn't even have to tell him to yell that.

"But I-I...suggest you...r-run..." She added, the blue eyed boy gripped her legs tighter to be certain she didn't fall before spinning on his heel and heading towards the nearby tree line.

¬NF¬

"I request you not use any more magic today Robin, and certainly not high level magic such as thine Arcfire." Owain said once they had entered the small forest.

"I-I won't..." Robin assured him, doubting she'd be able to stay conscious even if it was only an attempt at that spell. He stopped after a bit more running, placing her on the ground behind a tree so someone who had followed them couldn't see her.

"Stay here mine friend...I shall deal with them." The tactician gave him a look of uncertainty, only to get a reassuring smile from the myrmidon...she knew the likelihood of her being useful to him, weakly sitting against a tree as she was and unable to cast a spell, but that didn't make her any more comfortable about leaving all the fighting to the time traveller.

"C-careful..." The orange haired teenager didn't really need to say that, her earlier expression already got that point across, but it made her feel better to speak the word anyway. The blond boy gave a slight nod and moved a few steps closer to where they had entered before hiding behind a tree himself, obviously intending to keep her hiding place a secret from their approaching enemy, she moved her head and body a bit so she could see the fighting but remain undetected due to her place so close the the ground.

It didn't take long for one of the foes to run passed the sword user's hiding spot, his precious Missiletainn cutting with ease through the person who had run by him. Their opponents noticed the sliced man, two of them rushing him...he could block the swings of both with minimal damage to himself, but it would take a mistake from one of them for him to get in an attack of his own. The pigtailed teenager knew he would be able to beat them with time, both were wielding axes after all, and would have let herself relax if not for suddenly notice a lance user slowly sneaking up behind her friend. A flash of panic filled her upon realizing he didn't notice, too focused on the people in front of him...magic was out of the question right now, but she had to help him!

 _Then I won't use magic._ Pulling the steel sword from her hip, the cloaked teenager pushed her body up with the full knowledge that both it and Henry would be mad at her for pushing herself later...the adrenaline now rushing through her body stopped any pain she'd feel at the moment, and more importantly gave her the energy to actually use the weapon. She made no sound as she darted toward the back of the paladin who had left their horse behind to silently make it behind the blue eyed boy...their armour was sectioned far more and thinner than a general, allowing for this entire sneak attempt, but also meaning they had plenty of weak spots if you knew where to look and how weak her sword was wouldn't really matter any. "B-big mistake..." The black eyed teenager muttered, her crouched body leaping towards the threat before he had time to turn around...her sword easily slipped through a small opening between the pieces of armour on his back and into his spine. His body would be paralyzed even if he wasn't dead, and the momentum from her jump caused him to begin falling forward. She was about to allow the adrenaline fade from her body before she remembered that a fifth person had been headed towards them earlier...a sniper.

"D-damn..." The confidence the child-like teenager relied on in battle didn't fill her when using a blade, leaving her to her own devices with stutter fully intact and her mind slowly beginning to swim from how instinctual and primal the use of a sword was compared to her much preferred magic. She listened for any sign of the bow user, blocking out any sound that didn't matter. Finally the sound of an arrow being notched filled her ears from behind her, pulling her blade from the useless man was easy as she rolled to the side. Spinning around and running towards the new enemy all happened in one fluid motion the moment she stopped her roll...Owain would be intended target if the earlier mention of capturing her had been true, meaning the arrow had never been aimed at Robin, but her sudden movement and speed clearly surprised the sniper and gave her those precious seconds to close in before he fired. Another roll into a crouch gave the necessary momentum she needed, stabbing her weapon through their neck and pulling it sharply to the left and out of the soon to be dead body, blood splattering onto her as they fell...the cry of pain quickly became gargled by the blood filling the still attached part of their throat and lungs, a mix of sadistic pleasure and disgust filled her at the sight.

"I am thankful for thine help Robin." The myrmidon was suddenly behind her, the cry from their comrade must have distracted the two he was fighting enough for him to cut them down.

"Y-you nee-" The return of the tactician's pain cut her off, causing an outcry of pain as her body throbbed and decided that continuing to hold her up was no longer necessary...she began to fall to the side, but was luckily caught by her friend before she hit the ground.

"Robin!" Of course her once travelling companion would be the one to reach them first, but that was all she could make out as the pain became too much and her body passed out again.

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 **The Robin of Morgan's time didn't make jokes, making him uncomfortable when she does here, even if he doesn't remember why.** **The driving pun is honestly really bad and doesn't make much sense, but I was going for a joke on how they were carrying her so they were sort of a carriage for her, meaning she'd be driving them only she's just going to drive herself into the ground...it's awful and forced, but I couldn't think of anything better there, I've literally spent days just trying to figure out a pun to put there before I could post this chapter. When Henry mentions her body rejecting anything normal; it is due to Grima absorbing life energy from the people she was killing and a bit from her friends, so things of a more tangible sort that give her energy are promptly gotten rid of as her body slowly returns to normal. Robin's eyes only go red (when fighting) if she's using her magic, as she's calling on Grima's power to make sure she hits her target and the like...this also shows that she is more than a capable fighter even without the fell dragon's assistance, but she doesn't like how swordplay messes with her head, the pleasure from seeing the blood caused by Grima of course. Walhart wants Robin because he got a report of what happened during the last battle, considering Validar reveals Walhart knows of the Grimleal and is actively trying to stop them (via taking over countries and continents but meh), I believe he'd have to know that Grima has a human form and that they have been born now...he is smart enough to recognize the event as inhuman, and put two-and-two together, so he's trying to capture her to keep her from the Grimleal. Ok, finally done explaining things here encase I didn't do it well enough in the chapter. See you all soon!**

 **P.S. Is anyone surprised that I have planned out this whole AU to this where Walhart DID capture Robin here, locks her up and ends up falling in love with her? It would actually have a lot of character development on Walhart's part as he slowly starts to see her as more than 'the vessel', but I'm not sure if I'll end up writing it out...not like I really NEED to add anything else to this already 6 part planned story-verse but I just might end up writing it out anyway...**


	9. The Blame

**Sorry it took so long to get this up, I actually only started writing this a week or two ago when I realized how long it had been since I updated (I had two separate ideas for this chapter and ended up asking my husband what I should do, to which he responded that this one was far more within my style of writing)...I never had any intention of that happening, I just got distracted. I have a basic plan for at least the first part of the next chapter, so hopefully it won't take so long. Hope you all enjoy, read and review.**

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She wished there hadn't been any blame to place, that everyone could just understand what she had done was for the best...but life was never so simple, and she could never forget how hard her life had suddenly become.

"We thought she was in a coma!" Robin awoke to yelling, her foggy mind taking several moments to realize the voice was Chrom's.

"It was the best way to take care of her!" Henry? Oh gods, they were fighting, and over her! She had to get up, had to stop this!

"It's been a week and a half, we were all afraid she was going to die!" The king responded angrily as the tactician tried to move, only for pain to flood her body at the attempt and stop her...just as expected, she had pushed her body far beyond what she should have in the last fight and now her wellness had regressed.

"And if your little distrustful hypocrite of a child had managed to keep herself out of danger we would have shown Robin was awake in a few days!" The argument was obviously upsetting the dark mage, as he was resorting to harsh words rather than his usual cheerful tone.

"Don't bring my daughter into this!" The sword-user had openly contemplated killing the white haired boy when they had first met him, and the orange haired teenager refused to let him regress to those sorts of thoughts again.

"Thanks to your princess not noticing the danger Robin is weaker and sicker all over again!" The closed eyed boy hissed back.

"Stop!" The black eyed teenager called out, quickly followed by a coughing fit as Owain and Morgan helped her sit up. "H-Henry..." The robed boy immediately backed down at his name, walking to her side.

"How can you just act like nothing happened Robin?! They kept you away from us, we thought-"

"I-it was my i-idea." The cloaked teenager cut her friend off, quickly taking the blame onto herself.

"Robin..." She could feel everyone staring as the blond prince softly said her name, she hated to lie...especially to the Ylissian royals, after everything they had done for her, but her once travelling companion's place in the Shepherds was still new and frail which meant they couldn't risk the others wanting to get rid of him.

"I-I needed time t-to heal, i-if you a-all knew I m-may wake up a-at any t-time...i-it could d-distract you in b-battle. I-I couldn't r-risk that..." A logical reason behind the decision, one of the several the child-like teenager had thought up when her little 'doctor group' had mentioned they wouldn't be telling anyone else she was awake. "M-Morgan is m-my son...m-more than c-capable of b-being the tactician f-for a bit. O-Owain also told m-me that I-I've taught h-him some strategy a-and tactics when h-he was young...I-I decided you w-would all be fine." Her voice was soft now, so she hopefully wouldn't start coughing again.

"You trusted our LIVES in the hands of two children?" Lon'qu questioned, eyes slightly narrowed.

"M-most of you s-still think I'm a-a child. That m-makes them no d-different." Robin pointed out, taking a deep breath. "Owain, a-at least, has s-seen battles lost o-on a f-far larger scale than o-our war...h-he understands things w-we couldn't hope t-to, they all d-do. Morgan m-may be sweet a-and childishly o-optimistic at times, but h-he's smarter and m-more mature than most o-of you give him c-credit for." She subconsciously held her breath, hoping the others would just drop this argument now.

"...What about Henry?" It was the blue haired man who asked, because of course it would be.

"C-Chrom..."

"Why was HE allowed to know you were awake but not us?!" This question...the tactician had an answer, though at hoped not to use it.

"Henry w-was looking after Morgan w-when I woke u-up the first time. I-It was just luck." Henry had made it a point of keeping their connection from the group, and while she didn't know why the black eyed teenager would follow that wish...despite that her words sounded insulting to her own ears, of both him and the rest of the Shepherds.

"Why was he suddenly taking care of Morgan anyway? He didn't seem to care before." It seemed her best friend intended to keep pushing for answers...she sighed.

"Because Morgan i-is his SON Chrom. M-most of you were a-already married when we f-found your ch-children...he h-had barely met me, o-of course h-he was overwhelmed a-and scared to s-suddenly be a-a father, he's s-still FIFTEEN. B-but Morgan needed a p-parent, especially with me s-sick. He t-took his place a-as the father...a-and I'm grateful, b-because it's b-better late than n-never." The pigtailed girl explained, giving a sad smile at the king. "I-I'm glad you a-and Sully took t-to being the parent o-of teenagers so well Ch-Chrom...but we a-aren't all as brave a-and strong as you." The man opened his mouth again, only for his nephew to cut him off.

"Uncle Chrom, I humbly request you hold thine questions for a later date, Robin needs her rest." The blue eyed prince said, kneeling down to pick her up.

"...Why is it them?" The adult sword user growled, receiving a blink in confusion. "You're always thinking, and always keeping things to yourself...no matter how hard I tried you would never confide in me, and I told myself you simply didn't talk to others of your thoughts and feelings, I forced my worry aside because I thought you couldn't HELP it. But the moment THEY come along you're more than willing to spill your thoughts out!" Chrom yelled suddenly, his friends all taken aback by the outburst.

"Chrom-"

"Don't try to give me excuses Robin! By the GODS, we thought you were going to DIE! My NEPHEW shows up and suddenly HE'S privy to information that I'M not?! You don't even KNOW him, you don't know ANY of them!" He was getting madder and madder.

"Chrom, that's-" Lissa couldn't stand them fighting, trying to stop her brother but he ignored her.

"Henry ACTIVELY ignored you, made you look like you were going to CRY and left you to take care of Morgan ALONE just because he was AFRAID! But that's all just FORGIVEN because he tried to assure him you would be OK?! WE ALL DID ROBIN!"

"I-I-" Robin was trying her best not to start crying, but the tears had begun gathering in her eyes.

"I'VE BEEN WITH YOU FROM THE BEGINNING, I TOOK YOU IN, BUT YOU WON'T TELL ME A DAMN THING! FOR THREE YEARS I HAVE STOOD BY AND WATCHED HELPLESSLY AS YOU PUT YOUR OWN WELL-BEING ASIDE, BECAUSE GODS-FORBID YOU TALK TO THE PEOPLE YOU ACTUALLY KNOW CARE ABOUT YOU! HE DOESN'T DESERVE YOUR FORGIVENESS ROBIN, DON'T YOU SEE THAT?! WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE HERE FOR YOU, WE ARE THE ONES WHO UNDERSTAND YOU, BUT YOU REFUSE TO LET US IN! AND I'M SICK OF IT!" The tactician reached out as the king spun around and stormed off, her lip trembling...she didn't have the strength to go after him, but it wouldn't have helped even if she could, because she had no defense against what he had said.

"Chrom!" The war cleric called her brother's name as she ran after him, Libra following his wife without a word.

"...Damn." Sully cursed softly, going after the royals. The child-like woman could feel glares burning into her, even though her carrier had picked her up bridal style and blocked her view of everyone with one hand...she knew his cousin would be glaring, but the numb part of her mind wondered who else was.

"I apologize Robin." He murmured sincerely into her hair as he carried the orange haired teenager to her tent, her son and the dark mage close behind.

¬NF¬

"Robin, please...don't take what mine uncle said to heart. He is merely concerned for you." Owain tried to assure her as he softly placed the tactician on her bed. Her fingers immediately tangled themselves in her cloak sleeves, fiddling with them but the child-like teenager likely didn't even notice...she had been getting better about her nervous habit, usually pushing through any anxiety she felt...but the black eyed teenager could only handle so much, and all she could do was hope this wouldn't be her breaking point. The small body trembled with barely contained emotions, and the breath she took in sounded far shakier than she had hoped.

"I-I know." Robin gave a smile so forced it made the three males feel sick, especially with the tears she was obviously trying to stop slipping down her cheeks...it was clear to each of them that she was trying SO hard not to breakdown. Morgan opened his mouth, trying to think of something to say that would make his mother feel better...his father suddenly sat on the bed beside her, drawing everyone's attention. Without a word the white haired boy wrapped his arms around the teenager beside him and pulled her into his lap as she made a startled squeak. "H-Henry-" The dark mage turned her so her side was against his chest, pulling at the knees of the pigtail wearer until her feet rested on his own and her legs were against her chest.

"Shhh." He hummed in a soothing manner and any further questions fell flat, without missing a beat the myrmidon carefully pushed the head of orange hair so it fell to the shoulder of the boy holding her, giving a soft smile of comfort to the older. The arms of the closed eyed boy moved to encase the black eyed teenager, around the back and knees, giving another soft hum as he placed his chin on the top of her head.

"H-" She felt safe like this and it confused her, the voice that rumbled things she didn't want to think about was silent in her head. Before the cloaked teenager could even begin properly asking what was happening she had been cut off by the robed boy starting a gentle rocking motion.

"Shhh Robin...your cage will protect you. It's ok." Cage? Why did those words sound so familiar? "The outside world can't hurt you anymore. These bars will bind you, protect you, and ground you." Her eyes widened at the mumbled almost mantra, remembering that she had heard his voice and these exact words when she...the three here referred to it as 'losing control'...but these words, this voice, was what had guided her back. Robin's bottom lip trembled, and suddenly she couldn't hold back the flood of emotions. The fingers that had been against her sleeves tangled themselves in Henry's shirt, her head turned away from the time travellers as she began to sob into it. He merely continued his humming and rocking, as though he had expected this to happen...if she wasn't so consumed with sadness she may have thought that he had, or perhaps even planned it.

"C-Chrom...everyone...I-I never meant...f-for them...to f-feel...like I-I...don't c-care..." The tactician stumbled horribly over her words between desperate gasps and sobs.

"It is not thine fault Robin. It took more than three short years for you to reveal to me thine plight...thine past, though not accessible to you, still controls much of thine ability to open up." The blond explained softly, taking up the humming as the one holding her began to speak.

"And it took a lot longer than three years for me too...and I was rather persistent about trying to help you." Henry stated, letting his heartbeat calm her along with everything else.

"These people are your family Mother...I'm sure they understand that you can't help it." The younger tactician assured.

"B-but then...then w-why...?" She hiccuped, the crying not faltering in the slightest.

"Why open to us then, when this you has never met us? Because the way we speak to you, treat you...you already know you've opened up to us before, even without the memory." The dark mage had known her the longest beyond her their son, but the other two doubted he knew anywhere near the amount they did...the orange haired teenager said nothing else, crying until she ran out of tears. She moved so that the side of her head was against the white haired boy's chest again, her far hand still gripping his shirt as her body relaxed...she felt numb now, her emotions exhausted and calm. Owain smiled as though the event had caused him to be reminded of a fond memory, while his fellow time traveler looked almost amazed at how his parents were acting. "Try to get some sleep Robin, you deserve it." At the words black eyes slid shut, the owner asleep in moments.

* * *

 **I ended up going for Chrom becoming emotional due to thinking Robin was going to die, then his worry for her and her tendency to bottle up her thoughts from anyone but these three people who have rather suddenly shown up gets the better of him. "Why does it have to be them" sort of thinking...with no memory Robin has clung to the members of the Shepherds as family, especially the Ylissian royal family, making her all the more upset with herself that more people than just her best friend likely feel the same way as him. Hope you all enjoyed, see you soon.**


	10. The Family

**This ended up being shorter than I had expected for how long I had bloody writer's block again, and to be honest I'm not sure if the wait was worth it...I have big plans for the next chapter or two though, so hopefully that will make up for it. In better news, I found out how to get what I wrote directly from my phone into Fanfiction instead of having to go through my laptop, so yay! Hope you all enjoy, aren't too disappointed with the shortness or filler-ishness of this chapter, and don't forget to read and review! Gives me the will to keep writing!**

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She had never felt a family divided like she had caused, with many mad at her and only a few willing to understand...the emotional pain it caused was one that would forever haunt her mind.

Robin was just beginning to awaken when she heard a voice, one she quickly recognized as the king's younger sister.

"-Probably doesn't mean much coming from me, but I really am sorry about how Chrom acted." Lissa stated, and a slight nervous shuffle of feet could be heard against the ground.

"Robin is still within the land of dreams Mother...however we shall pass on thine message upon her awakening." Owain assured his parent, a pause filling the tent for a few moments.

"...Chrom will forgive her, she did save Lucina after all. And I understand her decision, if that helps any. So do Libra and Maribelle...I'm not sure about Sully, and Vaike is having about the response we all expected." She added.

"Mother will appreciate it, I'm sure." Morgan said, sounding like he was smiling, even if just a little.

"I...I never did thank you three."

"Thank us? For what?" Henry's voice asked the question, and the tactician could imagine his one eye opening slightly in curiosity as it always did.

"For taking care of Robin." The answer was so simple, so direct...yet the dark mage merely laughed.

"No need for thanks. We're just that INK-redible." He spoke a groan-inducing pun, likely with a large grin when he wasn't continuing to snicker.

"Indeed. Robin is important to us." The blond boy agreed.

"All that ever mattered to us was Mother getting better." It was a little odd to hear these three boys, all with differing personalities under their happy guises, agree so wholeheartedly about something...about her. The tent flap rustled as it was moved aside and someone else entered her tent.

"To take care of her without the expectation or want for thanks only means you deserve it more. Naga bless you." Libra was the one to enter, and he sounded just as thankful as his wife.

"If you say so." The closed eyed male obviously waved off the words, being what amounted to a priest of Grima to most meant he had no desire or care for Naga's blessing. "If you're divine dragon is going to bless someone it should be Robin, not a dark mage like me." His voice had become serious and just a little lower, like he was trying to hold back on being angry...if so the orange haired teenager couldn't figure out why, unless the attempted blessing from the war priest had insulted him, but that didn't seem in his personality.

"I believe I have used up all the good fortune Naga is willing to give me, I sit before you now after all Father." The blue eyed boy said his piece, which seemed to have the same end result as the one who had spoken before him.

"...I'm afraid I don't believe much in the blessings of Naga. It wouldn't be worth it to waste her powers of someone like me." It was her son's words that brought to tent to silence, unasked questions thick in the air...had he remembered something? The blond man gave a slight cough.

"I see." A simple response that requested no additional answers, likely the smartest decision.

"We'll let you three rest." With that the princess and her husband left, leaving only the four who had been inhabiting this small tent.

"...Morgan?" It was the boy's father who spoke his name, the black eyed teenager didn't know whether he was hoping for an answer or just some reassurance their son was alright.

"I'd prefer not to talk about it." It was the first time his voice dropped to a more serious tone despite everything that had happened, suddenly sounding a great deal like his father a few moments ago. There was only silence that followed, the extremely thin boy had likely nodded instead of spoke. After a minute or two the girl in the room began to feel restless, opening her eyes.

"G-guys?" Robin quickly realized that she was lying down in her cot, blankets pulled up over her and cloak hanging from her work chair...but she had fallen asleep leaning against her friend, meaning they must have moved her to this position while she slept.

"Robin!" Blinking and looking down her cot revealed slightly open eyes and a wide grin as their owner sat on the end.

"How are you feeling Mother?" In another blink the two other boys were beside the cot, looking a little worried.

"T-tired, still...weak t-too..." Despite her words the usually cloaked teenager pushed herself until she was sitting, her son holding her carefully up.

"You should be fully healed in a little under a week." Henry stated, pulling a small bundle of grapes from a bag and handing them to her as the remaining boys sat beside the cot.

"Th-thanks everyone." The tactician gave a soft smile as she pulled a grape from the vine and popped it into her mouth...after a few seconds a large grin spread across her face. "I'm GRAPE-ful to have you three as family." Keeping the stutters from her voice wasn't easy, but it was well worth it when blue and black eyes widened in shock.

"That was great Robin!" The dark mage began laughing again, this time almost hysterically, the blond quickly following his example...only her son remained silent, just like the first joke she had made. A quick glance revealed that instead of looking confused or amazed the youngest seemed to be upset this time, and while his mother wanted to ask why she decided it best not to try and push for an answer.

"...How a-are the rest o-of the Shepherds?" Another awkward silence filled the tent that the orange haired teenager didn't like, blue eyes meeting closed.

"...I'm afraid the camp appears to have divided over thine words, mine friend." Of course Owain wouldn't say it had been divided over her decision, because it hadn't been hers.

"I-I see..." So that was why Lissa had come to apologize for her brother and tell them who understood the child-like teenager's point of view.

"You didn't have to take the blame for us Mother." Morgan pointed out with a frown.

"Blame for me." His father corrected. "I told you two not to tell anyone."

"S-stop." She didn't want any more fighting among those she cared for, she was sick of it. "Please...d-don't fight over b-blame..." The black eyed woman's voice got quieter. "No m-more...please..."

"...I'm sorry Robin." She had begun to tremble again, no sleeves to fiddle with even if she had wanted to, and it was the robed boy who apologized first. The remaining two quickly followed suit.

"D-do we...know th-the sides?" The white haired time traveller got up and gave the inkwell, a quill and one of the many blank books on the desk to his mother before the other time traveller drapped her cloak over her shoulders.

"We are with you." The pigtailed teenager gave a soft, sad laugh.

"Th-that much is o-obvious Henry." She wrote it down in the book anyway.

"Mother and Father are on thine side as well, as is Brady's mother." A mere nod as the ink tipped quill was slide across the page to make letters then names. "His father is not." On the opposite page Vaike's name was written under Chrom's.

"Nah's parents are with you, Laurent's family too...Noire's mom brought her family to our side with her. Oh, and Flavia." Morgan added before the three fell silent.

"...That's i-it?" While fifteen, not including her, sounded like a lot it was truly a rather small amount in comparison to the whole of the Shepherds...the continued silence was all the answer she needed. "I-is anyone neutral?"

"Virion. Sully. Gerome and Yarne. Cynthia and Gaius. Say'ri and Tiki." More neutrals than Robin had been expecting, but she wasn't about to complain. The camp being divided like this was dangerous, anyone of the other side was unlikely to listen to her in battle anymore...but she could think of a way to keep everyone safe even if they were mad, even if they had decided to hate her. The Shepherds were her family, and she wasn't just going to sit by and wait for them to die.

"W-we have plans t-to make."

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 **I put way more hints towards my headcanons on Morgan than I probably should, but when I eventually reveal his past I don't want it to come out of left field...no matter how much Robin is emotionally hurting right now her main concern is keeping everyone alive, giving her more strength against this newest development than she'd have otherwise. This divide among the camp will lead to a lot more in this story, especially the next few chapters, as one might expect. Hope you all enjoy, see you all next time!**


	11. The Fall

**So I had the first, maybe...20 paragraphs done for a while now, but ended up getting stumped on the fight scenes I had to write later. In the end I decided to skip them, because even though they were sort of important it was easier to just tell the basic outcome afterwords instead, which allowed me to finally finish this chapter for you all! Sorry for the wait, read and review (it gives me the will to write when I get reviews), hope you enjoy!**

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She had spent so much time trying to keep her emotions in check during the divide that everything began to fall out of her control, and that's something she could never forget.

"Could you explain this plan of yours again Robin?" Virion stood outside the camp with the tactician, who was holding a stack of scrolls...easier to carry.

"T-to put it s-simply...I-I give you plans a-and you tell th-them to I-Inigo." Robin explained in the simplest way she could, getting a thoughtful nod.

"That way they have some sort of tactics, since they will not listen to you right now." It was her turn to nod. "I am neutral in this internal feud."

"I-I...I can't let a-anyone die b-because of this."

 _"This won't save them."_ The orange haired teenager ignored her pessimism, she didn't have the time to think like that. A hand was slowly held out to her, snapping her attention back to the owner.

"Than I shall assist as best I can." Black eyes widened before a smile stretched across her face.

"V-Virion...thank you." The scrolls were handed over, words dripping gratefulness, before the smaller one ran back into the camp.

¬NF¬

"Was thine plan successful Robin?" Owain questioned as she stepped into her tent, seeing she looked weary.

"Part o-one was, a-at least...if I-Inigo listens or not is u-unknown." This whole thing was quickly taking it's toll on Robin, in less than twelve hours her life had been uprooted in one of the worst of ways, her breathing was shallower than normal and she looked exhausted.

"You still aren't healed yet, you shouldn't be pushing yourself." Henry reminded her, though she merely gave a weak smile.

 _"You will lose your precious control._ "

"I-I can w-walk now, tomorrow I-I should be able t-to fight...that's a-all that matters." He responded with a slightly agitated sigh.

"She wouldn't be Robin if such could dissuade her." The blond pointed out, smiling despite looking worried.

"This is trivial to Mother." Morgan agreed, giving a smile of his own.

"H-Henry, Owain-"

"We shall keep watch around camp mine friend." The prince cut her off with a reassuring smile.

"You just rest Robin." The two left the tent, leaving only the boy and his mom.

"Night Mother." The black eyed boy said, crawling into his bed as she moved to her own.

"Good night Morgan."

¬NF¬

Robin wasn't supposed to wake up like this, covered in sweat and a silent scream coming from her mouth...whether she was supposed to or not didn't matter though, one way or another she still had.

"Robin!" It was Henry who called her name first, hand pushing against her shoulder to try and bring her mind back from reality. Owain quickly followed the plegian's example, rushing to her side and giving a gentle shake as he repeated her name. Only her son stood on the sidelines, watching as their attempts only seemed to make it worse, a choked scream filling the tent and surrounding area.

"...That isn't going to help." Morgan pointed out, pushing the two other males aside. "You should know better." He chastised harshly, making sure not to touch his mother. "No enemies have entered the camp Mother. Your nightmare wasn't real...you know that. We are fine, we are safe." The horrible scream stopped abruptly, her breath coming out in panicked gasps. "...Dad is safe." A few moments and her eyes seemed the finally register what was around her, calmed as she slowly sat up.

"How did thou know that would calm her?" The blond pulled the barely teenager by the sleeve, question falling softly from his lips.

"Mother has nightmares about bad things happening to Dad all the time." The white haired boy gave a shrug before pausing. "...She used to, at least. It was the same symptoms, so I just tried what I always did back home."

"And telling her Henry is unharmed always calmed her?" A smile quickly slipped onto the black eyed boy's face as the tactician looked at him.

"It's the truth." It was rather simple logic, but clearly correct, the younger time traveller giving another smile to the prince before quickly moving to be sure his mother was ok. Henry left the tent for a breather, followed by the blue eyed boy.

¬NF¬

"...Did thine Robin also have such nightmares?" The question took several seconds of silence to ask, both making sure the ones within the tent wouldn't hear them.

"If she did she never told me." The dark mage's response was instant, getting an understanding nod.

"Can thou think on a reason this Robin would have them, mine friend?" Footsteps sounded, heading in their direction...people who were on their side and heard the scream, most likely.

"Grima hates me." The answer took a few moments, but the simple fact was important. "Giving her nightmares like that would still upset her here, make it easier to take over..."

"And allow the fell dragon to release some of its built up contempt for thee." The myrmadon finished, getting a nod. "We are lucky Morgan knew how to bring her back." Another nod.

"Owain!" The royal turned his head to see Cynthia, eyes wide in concern, her father mere few paces behind her...several others were behind them still, but it was the two at the front who drew his attention most.

"Cynthia?" He had forgotten how fast she was, always riding that pegasus of hers...but the theif's daughter was capable of surpassing even her father's speed, when she didn't...she tripped. "Cynthia!" The sword user dashed forward, helping his friend up once she was certain she hadn't been harmed.

"What are thou doing here Cynthia? Thine mother is with Uncle Chrom!"

"Father and I decided to help you, to help Robin! She didn't do anything wrong, she was just trying to protect us, like she always did." The pegasus rider explained. "But that's not the point, is she ok?! We heard the scream and went to get the others." His breath hitched, just a little...Sumia was one of the most loyal to his uncle, that had never been in question, and choosing to side against the king in this internal feud of Shepherds was bound to strain the family.

"Robin is fine...it was just a DAYmare." The closed eyed boy laughed at his own joke, though it certainly didn't seem to make anyone else even smile.

"What of thine mother?"

"All the stories I heard about Mother was of a great pegasus knight under the king, fighting to protect and help the innocent...and Robin is innocent, even if they don't all seem to see that." A slow, grateful smile was her reward.

"Thank you Cynthia."

¬NF¬

Fighting, fighting and more fighting...days blurred into one another, the fights between true enemies and one another all that Robin could remember of them...it may have an odd sort of beauty any other time. They had managed to defeat Pheros in Steiger, but it had only barely been achieved without a death among them (too many people not listening to her, too many she couldn't control, instead following the plans of a boy smart enough to realize the plans given by his father had been from her but not how to direct an army)... thanks to his current mistrust of her Sully and Lissa had to convince Chrom that staying in the fortress would only lead to death, an unnecessary waste of what was already precious time, Basilio and Flavia had taken a small group to hold off Walhart in hopes of giving the others a chance to take out Yen'fay. It had been their only choice, and many had disagreed...the thought that she was forcing them to their death was quickly eating away at her, hastally going to save them would only get the rest killed, just like Lady Emmeryn...just like Lady Emmeryn...

"Robin?" Owain stood at her side, though her episode over his aunt felt to the both of them like years ago he wasn't so naive as to miss the similarities.

"...I'll be fine Owain." A deep breath, a forced smile that cracked and fell as soon as it was seen. "...Control my emotions, right?"

"...Yes, that's right." His expression made it clear he hated hearing the words from her.

"Gather our group, we don't have much time." A nod and he left, careful of the streams of lava slowly pouring down the volcano...it was nothing less than a miracle that Chrom had the same ridiculous and, frankly, dangerous plan for a battle field. Nonetheless it meant all the Shepherds were here, so she could at least try and protect them.

"Are you ok?" The orange haired teenager looked up to see Henry now at her side, smiling despite obviously being worried.

"...Would your Robin have sent Basilio to his death?" The question seemed to catch the dark mage off guard.

"Lucina's tale sure makes it seem like it." He answered. "And it's not to his death!"

"Lucina's tale suggests otherwise." The Plegian frowned at his own statement being used against him.

"Robin-"

"He's here." And with but a few words yet another fight began.

¬NF¬

The battle was bloody, and had it not been for Maribelle and Lissa carrying a few Physic staves into the fight many of 'Group Chrom' would have died under Inigo's orders. Say'ri cried at her brother's death as they headed down the volcano, his sacrifice now known, but Robin left the Ylissian royal siblings to comfort her...one would merely get angry at her attempts, and it was more important right now to try and think of how to take down Walhart. With this battle and the last there was no way he didn't know they had been fragmented from within, and that knowledge was deadly in the hands of such a man...

"Mi'lord!" Black eyes snapped to the source of the call, a soldier that had been with Basilio...who now looked panicked...

 _Gods no!_

 _"That little warning didn't save him...you knew it wouldn't...you already knew he was going to die. I told you that you would lose your precious control."_ Cruel laughter filled the tactician's mind, she shook it in an attempt to ignore it...but when her eyes fell on Flavia, hurt but clearly emotionally as well as physically, the truth of the situation hit her.

 _I sent Basilio to die._ Their words and the very world around her seemed to fall away, as though her mind no longer knew how to handle what was happening.

"...Bin? Robin?" The pigtailed teenager turned towards the voice, absently noting that her eyes were closed.

"Did you hear her?" Henry sounded worried again, had probably noticed something was wrong.

"Say'ri wants my opinion." The answer left her mouth instantly, though there was a moment of surprised silence after it.

"That's right." The foreign princess agreed. "Walhart has-"

"Returned to the imperial capital." Another instant answer, though part of her wondered how she knew that...she didn't remember hearing them. "You shouldn't assume I wasn't paying attention."

"But you-"

"Didn't answer when you first asked and Henry tried to call me because I was thinking, Say'ri." More silence.

"...Well?" Chrom wasn't happy she was being asked, with him trying to make a point by ignoring her and dividing the camp, that much was obvious in his voice. But the cloaked teenager had never been calmer.

"We attack the capital and end this pointless war." The eyes that finally opened weren't their usual black, but a glowing bloody red that locked with the blue of the king.

* * *

 **First things first, ROBIN SUDDENLY DROPPING THE STUTTER WAS INTENTIONAL!**

 **The transition here seems a bit confusing, since I cut out the battles and days between, but this basic sequence of events has been planned for months...I may come back and rewrite this chapter after the story is done. Encase it wasn't as obvious as I would like, Robin was trying to keep control of her emotions but could only do so much as Inigo proves useless as strategy (meaning around half her friends are nearly dying in each fight), the battles within the Shepherds become more and more often, the fortress turns from a win to almost certain death, and Basilio dying. Grima talks to Robin more frequently here because he knows she can't keep fighting him like this with everythin going on around them (there's a hint or two of him beginning to get to her, one of which being the aforementioned lack of stutter, not exactly subtle but there nonetheless). Next chapter will be a lot fun for me, and hopefully interesting for you all. Hope you all enjoyed, see you soon!**


	12. The Regret

**Well...I wrote this chapter in...maybe three hours? So I'm actually really proud of myself!...**

 **I know this is long and I doubt a lot of people will bother reading it, but...it's important.**

 **I know it probably doesn't seem like it, with how quickly this chapter was done, but I was actually contemplating quitting this story. Yeah...pretty sudden, right? I posted my last chspter right before I went to bed, and had planned to start this chapter when I woke up...I checked my email when I woke up, one of the first things I always do when I wake up, and saw that the previous chapter already had a review. I was so happy! So I opened the email to see what the review was...only to have some guest accusing me of character bashing every character that isn't Robin, and saying it was unrealistic because people were listening to Inigo (who isn't a tactician at all) instead of Robin (I moderate reviews and refused to allow that one to show on my reviews, if you're wondering why you can't see the review...if you care enough I can send a copy from email to you to read). I cried and wanted to quit, even though I didn't even know who sent that review...I offhandedly mentioned to my husband that I didn't want to write anymore, and he remembered how excited I was to write this chapter...when I told him what happened he asked me if I thought they were right. I didn't even answer, just stared at the floor...it was him who reminded me that I wasn't doing either, or at least the latter. It's natural for people to not follow people they don't trust, look at civil wars and such...it makes complete sense that those who felt betrayed by Robin not telling them she was waking up would choose someone else to tell them what to do in battle, even if that new person is inferior.**

 **So yeah...you fans of this story have my husband to thank for this story continuing.**

 **Anyway, enough depressing stuff, hope you all enjoy! Leave a positive review or two for me, ok?**

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She had never meant to become...whatever it was she became. She regretted letting it happen, letting everything that had has happened get to her...but she knew someone else regretted the things they had done even more.

"Morgan." Robin called her son's name from the front of the army as they walked towards the imperial capital.

"Here Mother!" Morgan grinned as he seemingly appeared as his mother's side, causing the red eyes to blink.

"Did you meet with Owain regarding the battle tactics?" The grin didn't fade, but there was a slight twitch at the words.

"He lied Mother, there were no plans. He just wanted to try and convince me something is wrong with you again." The white haired boy explained, receiving a slight nod.

"I had expected as much." The orange haired teenager stated, absently brushing one pigtail back over her shoulder. "And your response?" The grin got wider.

"I told him there's nothing wrong at all!" Another slight nod, the uncovered hand of the red eyed teenager making brief contact with the boy's head, almost like a pat, but not quite...the action made that grin impossibly wider.

"And Henry?" The smile fell, a scoff leaving the younger's mouth.

"Same as Owain." The lack of response from the older made the smile return. "They've been making a big deal about this since it happened a couple days ago, but it's just silly! It'd be almost impossible for you to lead everyone and win this war the way you were before!" A hum from the skilled tactician.

"That stuttering mess could barely use my powers." Though there was no fire nearby to control the cloaked teenager still made her point as a wave of heat seemed to erupt around her. "Always wracked with such anxiety, exhausted from mere thoughts...to have lived so long like that must have been the gods doing." The cloaked boy bounced twice before hurrying to catch up with her brisk pace.

"I was thinking the same thing Mother!" He agreed with the same wide grin.

"What of the little 'divide'?" A laugh echoed from the black eyed boy.

"I'd hardly call it that anymore Mother!" The grin gained an almost sadistic edge to it. "The king and his family still refuse to follow you, demanding for the 'old' you, but almost everyone else from this timeline seems to have realized that following you is in their best interest."

"Foolish Ylissian royalty." The pigtailed teenager grumbled.

"Life is nothing more than patterns and numbers. Even people." The short haired boy spoke the words almost like a treasured mantra.

"And anyone who doesn't fall within the pattern I have set are expendable." Another laugh left the ecstatic boy.

"It's just like you always taught me Mother!" He would have skipped along in childish glee, if the one he was talking to hadn't already chastised him for using so much energy unnecessarily when they could be attacked at any moment. "Anyone who follows your plans will be fine, if that traitorous king and his family are too stupid to figure that out whatever happens is their own fault." Another 'pat' on the head, another two hops of sheer delight before catching up.

"You're right, of course." Robin agreed, another blink as her eyes scanned the surroundings ahead. "I warned them. Their fate now is out of my hands."

"Hey! Tactician!" Chrom hadn't called her by name since they left the volcano, just as Owain and Henry had refused to do. An annoyed groan left her as their 'general' called to get her attention, knowing it would prove to be as much of a time waster as the previous times...but stopping here and speaking with him was faster than trying to continue, as he would simply find a way to halt them later and would likely be far louder, which had already drawn enemies to them before.

"Yes Chrom?" She stopped for the blue haired man to catch up, son bouncing needlessly at her side.

"Care to explain this plan of yours to us?" Chrom gestured to the army that had stopped behind him, eyes narrow and mistrusting...the orange haired teenager sighed.

"Have we not been over this already?" She questioned, though he made no sound to answer. "I would tell you my plan had I any belief you would actually follow it. As it stands, I am almost certain you would instead find a way to sabotage said plan and get several of our comrades killed...I will tell you once you and the other royals have moved passed being so disgustingly petty." Blue eyes widened before an enraged snarl left the owner's throat.

"Petty?! You-" The glowing eyes had narrowed now. Morgan moved without the order, kicking the back of the man's knees, causing him to begin falling forward. He was caught by the pigtailed teenager grabbing the front of his cape, his 'attacker' returning to her side, and a small hand clamping over his mouth.

"Have told you time and again to keep your voice down!" She hissed lowly. "Unless, of course, it is your intention to kill the aforementioned comrades now." The accusation got another glare, but his lack of speech when the hand was pulled back showed it had gotten the point across...a simple shove to his shoulders and the sword user was standing again, though almost stumbled from how sudden the movement was.

"I am not being petty. No one is being petty." The marked man disagreed, though his volume was kept at least relatively normal.

"Refusing to cooperate with me-"

"You aren't Robin!" The words came out as a snarl, but they didn't phase the cloaked teenager at all.

"That very thinking is what is petty Chrom." This man really did insist on wasting their time. He opened his mouth, only to be cut off. "Besides, you weren't listening to your precious 'Robin' either, in case you have so quickly forgotten." The flinch was one of four possible ways he could react, given the pattern of his previous reactions, so it didn't shock her at all.

"That's right! We were worried sick about her because of what you did!" Morgan agreed, though his giddy behaviour and appearance didn't falter.

"None of your little 'divide' seems to comprehend that the decision to hide the frequent awakenings were for your benefit and safety." The king didn't get mad this time, merely looking off to the side and allowing her to speak...one of three possibilities. "Had any of you actually considered the ramifications of the truth? If you had all known 'Robin' could wake up at random intervals you would have relied on her for your strategies in battle." If he was going to refer to how she was before as a different person so would she.

"How is that-"

"It's different because she would fall unconscious again just as suddenly! At any point during the battles you all fought while thinking she was comatose she may have woken up to give orders, only to lose that consciousness without warning!" Words were spat, almost as though they tasted vile. No response, making her let out her own low snarl...the same three. "Owain and Morgan were chosen because they were both trained in tactics and strategy, they weren't at as high a skill but would be available whenever needed! Yet those attempts to protect you were ignored in favor of the ridiculous belief that she had kept some unforgivable secret, and instead of gratitude she was given merciless distrust!"

"I-I didn't-" Chrom stammered over his words, but was cut off.

"You wanted to know why she chose those three to confide in?" Eyes widened. "She may not have known them, but they knew her...more than I can say about you." The red eyes returned to black for just a moment, a single tear slipping from her left eye, orange pigtails brushing the king's shoulder as the teenager turned away from him. "You're the one who made me into this Chrom...so you'd best get used to it." The black eyes of her son glared at the man as she walked away, expression only of anger and disgust.

"...Just like Dad." He muttered before running after his precious mother.

* * *

 **Here we have a Robin who is done with the treatment of Chrom and his group of the Shepherds, finally snapping at him in her current part Grima personality-part Robin personality self. We also get to see a far more cheerful Morgan through most of this chapter, and get a lot of hints towards his backstory. I did have a lot of fun writing this.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed, see you all soon!**


	13. The Mother

**This chapter focuses on Morgan and his past, rather than Robin (sorry Attitude Robin Fans!). I had planned on having him explain about his dad in this chapter too, but realized it was beginning to get longer than I expected, so I seperated it into two chapters instead. Read and Review, hope you enjoy!**

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It was hard to forget Morgan's obvious happiness at her change in personality, and the curiosity she still felt over why.

Morgan's eyes scanned the books in front of him, frequently looking at the open scrolls of Shepherds' plans then back to the books...it was a great deal of text and pictures he knew he hadn't been able to understand at one point, while the tactician would normally be there to point out things he was missing she was currently making rounds of the newly set-up camp and the surrounding area, which she would at least continue until the moon was at it's highest point. While some would call such actions as foolish, or even dangerous, but he had always idolized the determination and attention to detail behind such things.

"Mother really is amazing." The black eyed boy loved his mother dearly, the grin he wore having been there most of the day. He was supposed to be cross-referencing between the books and purposely failing plans, mark the problems and write or redraw how to fix them...it had actually been a rather common tactician training, as it was what he spent most of his time in the future doing it too...but the time traveller ended up being too ridiculously giddy to focus long enough to make any headway. "And she's finally taking this seriously!" There was no one he met who could outsmart the orange haired teenager, as long as she was taking a situation seriously...which happened at such a low rate it used to concern him, but he could understand now that taking it seriously was pointless when the possibility of you losing was next to nonexistent; which meant Walhart was very dangerous, and the Shepherds had mistreated the person who was both their greatest ally and greatest foe.

Grima, the Fell Dragon, immortal Dragon who the Shepherds planned to find a way and 'deal' with. Those of Owain's time spoke of the horrors it had committed in their world, and he was the only one certain that the vessel had her own mind. Morgan's view of such things was far simpler though-

"Morgan?" His grin twitched, because of course Owain would try talking to him again with him alone in the tent.

"I'm busy." The words didn't stop the older from moving aside the flap and entering, though he hadn't really expected it to. "Don't you have anything better to-" The black eyed boy looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowing upon seeing a head of white hair behind the time traveller.

 _"You look so much like your father when you smile like that."_ He hadn't expected the sudden memory, even if it was just a voice, gritting his teeth in quickly growing anger. _"Must make Robin happy to see so much of him in you."_

 _"I'd prefer if you didn't talk about him around me Mi'lady."_ The boy used to remind people time and again how he didn't want that man mentioned, but they always ended up forgetting...or they didn't care. A quick shake of the head returned his mind to the present. "He isn't allowed here." He hissed, not bothering with the false happiness right now. "Neither of you are, but especially not him."

"We just want to ta-" The younger spun in the chair to stand in front of the 'desk', rage flaring as he wished his eyes would go red like Mother's instead of the only sign of it being standing to his full (rather miniscule in comparison to them) height.

"And I've made it clear that I DON'T!" It wasn't supposed to be almost a yell, he didn't want his precious parent to hear that they were here, but it was hard not to lose patience with them. "Not only have you attempted to trick me into speaking with you and insisting there is something wrong with my dear mother, but now you dare bring HIM into our tent?!" Blue eyes widened at the venomous words.

"I thought thou hath forgive thine father." By Grima, was the prince really so dense?

"Of course I haven't!" More anger, causing the tactician's hand to twitch as he forced his hands to remain at his side rather than grab his nearby Elthunder tome. "And drop that ridiculous act already!"

"...What's gotten into you Morgan? This isn't like you." He much preferred the older asking about him and speaking normally...he still didn't want them here, but answering the question shouldn't cause any real problem.

"For someone who is constantly acting you aren't very adept at telling when one has been dropped, are you?"

"Acting? ...Wait, that was all an act?!" The blond stared in what could only be described as horror, getting a smile and closed eyes in some sort of sadistic joy in return.

"Just acting the part of his child." A vague gesture towards the closed eyed boy who currently wore his own large grin, the smile didn't fade when the young time traveller looked at him. "You always smile the most when you're upset or hurt, right?" There was no response, his child's smile getting all the wider. The black eyes snapped back open suddenly. "I'm glad you're smiling so wide. After everything you've done to Mother I'm hoping to cause you as much pain as possible." Any attempt at being civilized shattered with the words, the sword-user unable to stand such words toward a man he deeply respected.

"How dare you speak to him like that! As a prince of Ylisse I demand you apologize!" The sudden outburst didn't effect the preteen at all.

"So that's how you want to do this? Fine by me." The commanding aura that seemed to come off of the myrmadon held nothing compared to that of the younger as he stared into the other's eyes. "I am Morgan, honorary member of House Ylisse and child of the legendary tactician Robin. My job is to take over as tactician in the absence of my mother, ordering the royal family should a war ensue...as my mother is currently doing rounds and we are in the middle of a war this gives me the authority to give commands to you. As such..." While he had seemed relatively calm until now the anger came back with a vengeance, eyes narrowed in warning as his voice rose again. "I command you out of my tent! And take him with you!" Owain merely stood in shock, but it seemed Henry was smart enough to realize staying here wasn't going to get them anywhere, the dark mage grabbing his arm and wordlessly pulling him from the tent. Knowing that any attempts at the plans now would prove even more futile than before the child sighed, closing the books before laying in his bed.

¬NF¬

"You...you really love your mother, don't you?" Morgan's attention snapped back to the present, finding himself sitting at a table in the camp across from Noire, who was the one currently talking to him...to be frank he knew next to nothing about her, doubted she had even existed in his time, but she was the only one willing to talk to him without focussing on his mother's recent change of attitude.

"Of course I do, Mother is the greatest!" The smiles he had around this girl were as real as those he had around the mentioned woman, and he found himself enjoying talking to someone who didn't question or insult her.

"I-I hope you don't mind me asking, but...um...how so?" If the boy hadn't been annoyed by his mother's stuttering it this world he may have found the archer's to be cute...the look in her eyes told him the question was of honest curiosity, so he had no reason to be mad at her.

"It'll probably take a while, I have a lot to say." The tactician warned, surprised when he got a small smile in return.

"I was h-hoping so." All he could do was blink for a few seconds and it seemed the black haired girl took that opportunity to explain. "Everyone around me has...different opinions of her. I wanted...I wanted to hear it f-from you, those things that make you happy with her like this." She had said 'like this'...it wasn't saying there was something wrong, like everyone else, just a simple two words of description. He smiled, genuinely, a little bigger.

"The easiest and quickest way to explain that is where I'll start then." The black head of hair nodded. "The woman she is right now, her attitude and even the red eyes...THAT'S my mother." Her eyes widened, in shock and curiosity rather than horror or disgust, and he just smiled even wider. "My mother is amazing! She had the whole of Ylisstol guarded so well that no one could EVER get in without us knowing! She had a few guards in the nearby villages each to watch for brigands, and she'd go kill them all by herself if there were any!"

"That's amazing..." The dark eyed girl was in clear awe, and it felt so GOOD to talk to someone about this stuff.

"There were more portraits and statues of her in the castle and around the town than the royal family! And even though she never fought in any wars she became the royal tactician in four days after arriving at the castle, and nobody ever wanted to attack Ylisse because she was there, but she never made an effort to make anyone afraid of her!" The white haired boy had long began rambling, seemingly never running out of reasons for his adoration of his mother.

"B-but isn't she...I-I mean, isn't HE..." The girl stumbled over her words when she suddenly cut him off, causing him to pause.

"Well...sorta. I mean...how to describe this..." The black eyed boy sat in silence for what must have felt like an eternity to her. "It's sort of like...a Robin with his influence. Or him with human emotions and attachment." She looked relieved.

"So she's...not d-destructive?" He snorted.

"Less than any brigand you'll meet." The response was immediate. "She needs a reason to destroy anything, just like you or me." Morgan found himself happy to see her relief, which he refused to look too deeply into, knowing her fear was only because of how she had grown up.

"But...she m-must be close...to having him t-take over..." Noire pointed out hesitantly, and he blinked in surprise, having expected the subject dropped now.

"I suppose so, if you want to be technical." The tactician agreed. "Do you remember what happened when I was attacked in that battle?"

"Y-you mean when she..." The archer trailed off, getting a nod.

"You know how that only happens when she 'consumes' life energy?" It was her turn to nod. "Mother needs it too, though not nearly as much."

"Th-that must mean...he's c-close to taking o-over, right?"

"I guess, but I'm not worried about it. He never took over in my time." The white haired boy reassured her. "I think they're in a sort of...symbiotic relationship when they're like this, neither has complete control, it's like a mix of both."

"Wait, then...w-we're SAFER with her like this?" The black haired girl questioned with wide eyes.

"Everything I've seen would suggest it, at the least." The white haired boy agreed. "That's another part of why she's so amazing!" She laughed a bit at how quickly he returned to telling her about his mother's achievements and strengths, despite the laugh she didn't seem to mind, and was just as enthralled by it all as he wished someone would be.

* * *

 **I have no idea why, but reading Morgan order Owain (and Henry) from his tent sends me into near hysterics every time...it's a little weird, but whatever I guess. The more I write him 'interacting' with his dad now that his memory has returned the more apparent I make it that he has some DEEP rooted problems with the Henry from his world, with a semi-hidden hint as to why that may be in this very chapter!**

 **While trying to figure out pairings for the children for this story I found myself focusing mostly on Morgan, and who he would end up with...I eventually decided on Noire, due to her having at least a bit of understanding when it comes to caring about a mother that most are afraid or displeased with. I think the two of them, with this Morgan, actually make a really cute couple. Still trying to figure out a few of the other child pairings, but they'll come in time I'm sure. Hope you enjoyed, see you soon!**


	14. The Break

**Not really sure what to say this time, beyond that this chapter went NOTHING like I had originally planned, but I like it better this way. Hope you all enjoy, read and review!**

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Her son always seemed to have problems of some kind or another, but it wasn't hard to remember when he suddenly got much worse.

Morgan walked a mere pace and a half behind his mother, hiding the frown that had taken over his features...for not even half a step behind the boy was the dark mage to have abandoned her twice already, having managed to worm his way into her good graces yet again. He trusted her, of course, but worried that even if she couldn't remember her past with the plegian is still affected her otherwise perfect judgement.

"Morgan." The white haired boy quickened his pace so he walked along side the teenager who called his name, unable to force the smile when he saw her; her eyes were sunk in, with dark bags under them, her skin was now an almost sickly pale while her pace had slowed from even the day before...the body held no life energy anymore, save for her own, leaving his precious parent quickly growing weaker as days passed by.

"Here Mother." Robin looked at her son, he knew that she had noticed his lack of smile but she seemed to have decided that mentioning it was unnecessary.

"Any update on the Ylissian royalty or the other children?" The lightning-preferred tactician loved giving her reports, the feeling of fulfillment it gave him was incomparable...yet he couldn't smile about his treasured 'job' due to her current state.

"The royals are more agreeable now. Noire knows she's wrong." He stated, getting a hum in response.

"...And Henry?" Black eyes had to keep from narrowing at his father's name.

"Two steps behind you." His frown twitched a little further down when the glowing eyed teenager smiled slightly, and he was grateful that her attention wasn't currently on him. "Mother...why not take some of my life energy?" She would become sick again from taking energy from random people, her body not yet used to the act (unlike the Mother back home), meaning her options were narrowed down to people she had already taken energy from before...his had never been taken from her, but half his blood was her own, which should keep her body stable enough.

"I don't need it Morgan." Even back home the pyrokenetic woman refused the boy's energy.

"But I-" He hated that he could give her more than enough energy, yet she wouldn't even let him try, making him sick to his stomach with disgust of himself and his apparent inability to help in the most important way for her.

"Besides, I'll be gaining quite a bit tonight." The orange haired teenager cut off her son, who finally managed to force a smile.

"I'll do your rounds then." He immediately offered, getting a nod of approval.

¬NF¬

Morgan sat against a tree on a hill overlooking the camp, enabling him to see even the other side, allowing him to take a precious rest after the long day of walking rather than constantly circling the camp. The world of the night assaulted his senses, but there was nothing abnormal about it; the crickets chirping and wind moving his hair, breaths crisp from the lack of sun and the darkness that blanketed everything were all common occurrences...there was no clanging of weapons or armour of an approaching enemy, no while feathers gleaming in the light of the moon as a pegasus tried to sneak up on them, no buzz of magic in the air or smell of blood.

"...Too peaceful." The boy complained softly, heaving a heavy sigh. As long as he was in the tent he could let his imagination run wild, letting memories of sleeping in a room within the castle with his mother as a child take over his mind...he would almost be able to hear the servants scuttering through the halls to get the last of their nightly work done, the rustle of feathers as Corpse gets more comfortable on his mother's headboard, her soft hums for the albino bird but he pretends it's for him.

But those memories and fantasy are impossible to call upon as he overlooks the camp, night chill biting at the tactician's bare fingers...his mind instead was taken over by far less pleasant memories until the world around him faded.

 _~He moved his left arm until Mother's pet could land on it, elbow resting on his left knee to keep from using precious energy as his right sprawled almost uselessly across the ground, knowing that keeping the bird warm was needed for it to be helpful. The white haired boy pulls up the hood of the worn cloak with his right hand, Ylisse was starting to get colder now (if he focused he was almost sure he'd see his breath) and once the cawing oddity landed on the arm he could pull it against his chest before enclose the cloak around them both. The scavenger's cry sounded above him, and he looks toward the sound to see it flying several feet up._

 _"Caw!"_

 _"So? Keep warm or not?" The black eyed boy questioned, eyes narrowing when it merely continued to circle him...damn thing never liked listening to him, but they're the only company the other would allow now. More cawing, seeming to echo around him, and now he knew it was mocking him again._

 _"Caw! Caw!"_

 _"Fine, freeze." The cloaked boy hissed, attention returning to the forest ahead of him...the brigands in Southtown had been no problem for him, of course, but now he had to treck back to the capital.~_

"...N? M-an?" _~Head snaps to the side upon hearing a sound._

 _"Caw, caw!" Corpse's sounds, almost panicked, faded into the background until it had become silence.~_

"Morgan!" The present snapped back into focus, the buzz of magic in the air...it took him a moment to realize it was his own magic, Elthunder half cast with his hand on the tome. A blink until he could make out Noire, eyes wide in what he could only assume was fear.

"N...Noire?" Her fear seemed to ebb away when he said her name, a single breath to calm the magic and get rid of the half-cast spell.

"Morgan?" The archer sounded far more worried than he'd have liked.

"I..." Morgan paused as he looked at himself, only to find his body in a familiar pose, one he only used when waiting for a certain winged nuisance to land on his arm. "I...sorry..." A quick swipe under his eyes proved his theory, he had begun crying when reliving the memory.

"A-are you...alright?" He appreciated the black haired girl's concern, but he didn't want to think of those memories any more than he already had...he could almost feel the fresh blood splattered against his face and hands...his fingers absently dug into the sleeves of the cloak he wore.

"I'm fine." The tactician knew he would be soon, at least, at that was close enough. "You should be sleeping." He pointed out when she sat beside him, his eyes quickly scanning the visible area to be sure nothing had gotten close while he was distracted.

"I heard y-you pass my t-tent...you d-don't usually do the r-rounds, so I...thought y-you might be lonely..." Black eyes blinked.

"How did you know it was me?"

"O-oh, um...the clothes." He blinked, but the purple eyed girl seemed to have noticed her mistake. "Not that I-I SAW you, rather, I, um...I h-heard it. Your...your clothes may, u-um, look the same...b-but the material is d-different. Um...h-higher quality, so it...s-sounds, um, different. The c-cloak is the same, though."

The cloak was the same. Of course it was the same. ~ _Blood was still dripping when the bird drags it through the window. Been days, should wonder why the blood isn't dry. No time. Have to get a container. Save the blood. Save Mother.~_

"...N..." _~Had to sew the cloak. Couldn't wear it all torn. Doesn't try to clean the blood stains. Keeps Mother with him. Always with him. Never takes it off. Doesn't want to. Won't lose her again. Woman in armour demands he takes it off. Friend of the king. Kills her. Keeps the blood off Cloak. Only Mother's blood allowed. King gets mad. Dancer woman makes the king calm. Promises no one will take Cloak. Only if he doesn't kill friends. Agrees._

 _Corpse stays with him. A year passes. Sometimes feels almost alright. Sometimes. Can't make plans now. Not allowed. Not 'stable'. Kills brigands instead. Like Mother. Hard to think. Most of the time. Hates when easy. Brigands stupid. Barbarians. Kill them all. For Mother.~_

"..." _~It's cold tonight, so pulls hood up. Needs to head back to the castle. Easier to think, doesn't like it. Dumb bird won't stop flying around. Knows it won't let itself freeze...will come down soon. Always does. Hears a sound, but it's too late. Head snaps to the side but not enough time to dodge. Corpse cries and flies at the man attacking. Works long enough to get back some. Man has an axe. Mind isn't clear, but remembers swords are better for fighting axes. Goes to pull sword free from belt. Man is annoyed with meddling Corpse. Corpse cries out again. Start flying away. Man cuts Corpse in half. Blood splashes on hands. On face. On Cloak. Can't think. Cuts man down. Screams. Cries. Two pieces. Sews Corpse. One piece. Not moving. Blood. Needs back. Claws at Cloak. Give back. Need Corpse. Need.~_

"-Gan!" _~No work. Dead. Corpse dead. Screams. Won't stop. Throat hurts. Still screams. Buzzing. Magic. No air. Sparks shoot. Purple. Kill. No Corpse. No anyone. Kill all.~_

"MORGAN! YOU WILL SNAP OUT OF THIS AND BREATHE NOW YOU INSOLENT FOOL!"

* * *

 **So, this chapter originally had Morgan explaining to Noire that his mother was taking life energy from his dad, because she had before in emergencies as a child, and men were better for taking life energy because they can create brand new life energy without any to their own (I'll let you all guess what exactly that means) along with the reveal of why he hates Henry so much. Instead it turned into showing that Morgan, in his own time, was very unstable and broken for a year. So, yeah...oh well, a muse will be a muse. Hope you all enjoyed, see you all soon!**


	15. The Lightning

**You know, I'm getting these done and out at a pretty decent rate, if I do say so myself. I have way, WAY more fun writing Broken!Morgan than a I should...but I will just accept that as an odd fact. Hope you all enjoy, read and review!**

* * *

Robin never necessarily had a fear of lightning, especially if it had been conjured with magic, but the mild distaste she had for it had rather suddenly become a distinct distrust from something she only wished to forget.

"MORGAN! YOU WILL SNAP OUT OF THIS AND BREATHE NOW YOU INSOLENT FOOL!" Breathe? Wants. Tries. Can't.

"...N..." Mouth tries. Hard speak. Sounds...jumble. "Oi...re..."

"Shh, shh! J-just breathe, you'll...um...you'll be o-okay if you can..." Voice soft. Not mad. Anymore. Worried. Still trying. Still can't. "I, um...c-can't get closer until you, u-um...calm down." Buzz. Magic. His. Panic. Need stop.

"H...u...r...t...s..." Mind mixed. Can't see. Pain. Head. Heart. Hurt Noire. Wants to. Doesn't.

"I-it hurts? Where?!" Making panic. Feels bad. Wants apologize. Tongue heavy. Won't work. "WHERE DOES YOUR PAIN STEM IMBECILE?!" Yells again. Scary. Moves hands. Slowly. On head. On heart. "Y-your...um, I'll..." Panic more. What do? Doesn't know. Her neither.

"..." Caws echo. Corpse? Corpse dead. Hurts more. Sparks. Feels. From ankle. Hurts too.

"C...co...ps..." Tries name. Doesn't work. Missed letter. Maybe more. No breathe. Still.

"Oh Gods! Oh Gods!" Dying? Thinks so. Wouldn't mind. Kinda wants. Only kinda. But deserves.

"MORGAN!" Mother? Can't be. Dead. Wait. Not home. Alive here.

"Robin, what are you doing?!" Knows voice. Only here. Dad. Alive here.

"I need to get him back under control Henry." Control? Lost? Didn't mean. Sorry.

"Let me try."

¬NF¬

Robin's heart pounded stronger than it had in days, perhaps weeks now, an energy not her own flowing through her body. Her breathing had finally steadied, feeling more ALIVE than she could remember.

"Are you...better now?" She had never expected to hear Henry's voice so soft, it was an oddity that she didn't necessarily enjoy.

"Much." The answer was a simple truth, but it seemed to satisfy him. He slowly pushed himself until he was sitting on the cot, he laughed but it sounded more hollow than normal.

"Then I should-" The dark mage stopped suddenly, body stiffening beside her.

"Henry?" Red eyes opened, blinking at him.

"...Where is Morgan?" A hum as the she thought.

"Doing my rounds." The tactician finally responded. "He offered, likely to stay out of our way."

"The moon is past it's peak. He should be back by now." Her body snapped into a sitting position of her own, wracking her mind for how much time had passed...cursing when he was right.

"We'll be at the capital in two days! Where is he?!" Her son had been nothing but dutiful and obedient since the incident at the volcano, never failing to follow orders to a precise degree and inform her of his location should it not be at her side. Dark eyes she still couldn't see the colour were open now, showing just how worried the owner was.

"Caw, caw caw!" The white haired boy called out to his little pets as she jumped from the cot, pulling on her pants. "The hill overlooking the camp." A growl left the orange haired teenager's throat.

"Then I'm going to get him!" She hissed, throwing on her cloak half-haphazardly.

"Wait!" Eyes narrowed when he moved to block her way. "There's...his ankle, where the mark is...it's sparking..." The child-like teenager doesn't know exactly what that means, but does at the same time, and needs to deal with it. She stuffed her feet inside her boots and pushed passed, running towards the hill.

¬NF¬

"MORGAN!" The crows were right, of course they were, Morgan was on the hill with purple sparks covering his lower left leg while shooting off around him as he shook. Noire was several feet back in a panic, couldn't get any closer with the sparks that only seemed to be getting worse. Robin decided she wouldn't just leave her son like that, taking a step forward and pushing the irrational anger down for now.

"Robin, what are you doing?!" Henry had caught up, 'skirt' and boots in place, grabbing her wrist.

"I need to get him back under control Henry." The words left her mouth before she could really think about it.

"Let me try." Part of the pigtailed teenager was mad at the suggestion, but the rest wanted her to give the suggestion a chance.

"...He doesn't like you."

"He's still my son." A hesitant nod and the dark mage slowly began moving forward.

"Noire, get a healer." The archer didn't even disagree, running off as soon as the order left the red eyed teenager's lips.

"Morgan...you're not breathing..." A quick check, focusing more on the boy than the electricity, revealed the statement to be true and she cursed in her head.

"...C...ca...n't..." The younger tactician choked on the sounds, they sounded like all of his focus was being put into just trying to speak...failing, for the most part, but definitely trying.

"You can do it." The closed eyed boy disagrees softly, continuing his slow movements towards their son. "Remember what you told Owain and I when Robin woke up screaming from nightmares?"

"M...em...b...r?" The lightning preferred child choked again, he would be coughing if he had the air to do it. His eyes scrunched shut and hand against his head tightened, he was trying with all his might to remember...but she didn't understand why he was suddenly having trouble with these things.

"You said we just had to tell Robin I was okay, and she'd calm down." His father was being far more calm, considering the situation, than his mother. "So...I'm going to do the same. Robin is okay, your mom is okay...she's behind me, not too far, just enough to stay safe." The boy is breathing now, but hyperventilating...she decided that's better than not at all.

"M-Mo-" Now he was coughing, breath he was barely gaining forced back out less than a second later. She wonders if the grinning boy can really do this, but decided a moment later that if anyone can it's him.

"I'm right here." Robin adds, wanting to step forward but something within stops her.

"Mo...mo..." Morgan is trying to say her title, but no matter how many attempts he makes it seems impossible for him now. He's pulling at the cloak sleeves, and she only now notices the tears they've gained from his nails, knowing they weren't there when they set up camp.

"She can't get any closer until you calm down Morgan." Henry's voice is calm and soft in the same way it was when she lost control, steps slow. The response was instant, a purple bolt of lightning striking his shoulder.

"Henry!" The dark mage doesn't even flinch at the attack, and the tactician's still not happy about that even if she had expected it.

"It's hard, it hurts, I get it...but you can do this. Just focus on breathing for me." The boy struggled to follow the directions, every few seconds it hitches and the sparks shoot out farther for a moment, but he's slowly getting a handle on it.

"Almost there Morgan." The teenager assured her son, moving slowly towards him now that he was getting better control of himself.

"Just like the sea to it's fish..." The white haired boy takes a breath, a hair's width away from the black eyed boy. "I will always protect you." The moment the older boy finished his words he touched the younger, only for purple to fill the orange haired teenager's vision while a scream rang in her ears...it took a few seconds for her to realize it was her own. Lighting streaked across her skin, more painful than anything she could remember feeling before, like a burn yet so much deeper.

"Henry!" Brady's voice, the black eyed girl vaguely recognizes, forcing her vision to focus passed the pain. Purple lighting shot out of the pained boy's back, it looked like a spider web but quickly moved around to form three sets of wings, the rest moving to engulf his body. A screech from the air, likely one of the crows being hit by the out of control element, caused the 'attack' to disappear.

"MORGAN!" It doesn't surprise the cloaked teenager when the hexer's daughter cries for the one who had caused the 'incident', but it's hard to think much about that when the sword-user's knees buckle. She looks up as the healer runs to the one he had called out for, knowing he had probably taken the most damage. All that could be done, for now, was to sit here and wait to be healed.

* * *

 **Well, Morgan suddenly got a lot more dangerous. As to why he is suddenly showing lighting-based signs of Grima's Vessel...well, there are reasons for that. You'll find out. Robin is finally filled with life energy, but they don't really have time to sort all this out... Hope you all enjoyed! See you soon!**


	16. The Certainty

**I was originally going to just time skip again (I have a timeskip problem), but found it far more fun to write the immediate aftermath of Morgan's little panic attack. Seeing as I have a rather rare opportunity here, with having Robin and Grima in a sort of 'fused' state at the moment, I decided to take a chapter to focus on Grima's thoughts and feelings as opposed to Robin's like normal; I also decided to elaberate on how exactly the body works while having two separate minds. Hope you all enjoy, read and review!**

* * *

It was rather odd, in a sense; she had always thought in probabilities, whatever happened would be one of however many possibilities (though she often tried not to think about that)...but when she had her 'attitude' there were times where she instead was certain of exactly what would happen, and when that happened she was never wrong...

Robin sat silently on the ground, merely waiting to be healed because there really wasn't anything else she could do. The lightning seemed to have damaged most of her nerves, as any attempt to move only resulted in a slight twitch and a spark of pain...she had expected her body to double over by now, torso slamming to the ground because she couldn't hold it up anymore, but her body was instead stuck in a sitting position. Red eyes watched as Brady's staff glowed above Henry, healing the dark mage first...considering he had been the closest to the source he was the one to endure the most damage, but that didn't stop the distinct annoyance that the traitor was being tended to as though he was the army's greatest asset. Attention shifting to the side revealed that Morgan had failed to stop trembling, hazy black eyes staring at her, though he was actually simply looking in her direction...Noire sat beside him, hand squeezing his and trying to get him to speak.

"Morgan." Pale lips tugged slightly into a frown, the boy did not respond to his name, and managing to say it had been disgustingly difficult like this.

"What?" She had failed to notice the cleric had turned to face her with narrow eyes, evidently he had heard her...in return she merely glared right back, wanting to punish his disrespect but unable to at the moment.

"She wants to know if he's okay." The closed eyed boy said cheerfully, stopping what was quickly becoming an instinctual and mental battle for dominance. The blond turned to look at him, the previously glaring pair both knowing it was as good as backing down, before slowly looking to the other time traveller. "I'd like to know too." That wide grin finally convinced the noble, he took quick steps towards the lightning user (the younger tactician had been directlly at what was now his father's side when the older time traveller ran to them...had he dared to push her child away, or had the archer done it in an attempt to defend him?) and knelt to look at him.

"Morgan?" The name was spoken softly by the arrow user, but as the pigtailed teenager had suspected there was still no response. "He won't say anything...he wont move, except this trembling..." A cautious frown appeared on the face of the one checking him over, yet she already knew there would be no physical damage on his body.

"I don't...sense nothin' wrong..." She likely would have laughed if her body would have let her, even if he had sensed it staves weren't capable of healing a broken mind.

"And Robin?" The orange haired teenager blinked in mild surprise at the question.

"Henry-" The scarred boy didn't want to check her, though he'd merely tell the Plegian that she hadn't been hit so he wouldn't have to.

"The lighting stuck her some. I saw it." And there went that excuse. She opened her mouth, about to say the traitor and the others didn't need to worry about her, only to choke on the words from something that wasn't the current state of her body, and eventually deciding it best to just keep her mouth shut.

"...I'll check 'er." The idolization the children from the ruined timeline held for Henry came in handy at times, as it caused the blond teen to head slowly towards her, though it would be far more convenient if it were directed at someone more competent. "You're lucky Henry still likes ya."

"Luck doesn't exist." Robin's mouth twitch to make a smirk, though it appeared more like a grimace, both their voices low now that they were face to face.

"Ya should keep your mouth shut." Brady hissed, his face and tone were all that shifted...he was making sure the traitor didn't suspect anything. After a few seconds of focus, staff being used to try and pinpoint any wounds, he pulled sharply back. "The hell?"

"Is she okay?" The dark mage's smile had fallen slightly, concern now in it.

"She, uh...see, she's got...er..." The healer stumbled over his words as he tried to think of a way to word the damages that wouldn't worry the one he was now talking to anymore than he already was.

"Robin?" Dark eyes opened slightly and the red eyed teenager sighed, such worry was pointless.

"...Bit of nerve damage." It didn't calm him any, she hadn't intended it to. "Sit down Henry." Her voice became the familiar commanding tone the moment he moved to stand, he halted immediately. After a moment of the blond considering correcting her on 'bit' he nodded.

"Shouldn't take long." He assured the once again closed eyed boy, lifting his staff to begin the healing. The tactician let the healing continue until she's certain her body could move properly again, arm darting up to slap the 'weapon' away.

"Don't waste a limited resource." She responds harshly as soon as the noble opens his mouth, cutting him off...he takes the opportunity to refrain from completing the process and returns to the plegian's side while she rolls her limbs experimentally, the sparks of pain still occur for every movement but it isn't enough to really bother her.

"Robin?" The concern seemed to only become stronger, from the sound of his voice, the tactician shaking her head at the display.

"Fine Henry." This time the usually caped boy grinned widely, as though she had never lied to him. Pushing herself to her feet caused the sparks of pain, but didn't actually hinder her...slow steps lead her to the still trembling child. "Morgan." The lightning prefered boy made no movement and his mother gave a soft noise of annoyance. "Henry, have a crow call."

"Ok Robin." The white haired boy didn't question the order, simply following it...it felt almost refreshing, after his borderline disobedience earlier. "Caw, caw!" It was merely a human imitation, the orange haired teenager already knew the young boy wouldn't react.

"Caw!" This time it was an actual crow, the vacant eyes of her child focusing slightly until he seemed to finally notice her presence.

"Morgan." The young time traveller tilted his head slightly. "Let's go." He pulled from the black haired girl without hesitation, only for her to grab his shoulder and hold him down while glaring at his mother.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" The hexer's daughter demanded loudly, the face of the one she 'spoke' to twisting slightly in annoyance.

"I am having him go to my tent, where Henry can keep an eye on him." Her son's 'friend' faltered, anger fading as she realized what the other had been planning.

"O-oh..." The white haired tactician immediately began trying to stand again the moment the hand that had been stopping him was pulled away, only to stumble before he could even straighten.

"Henry." The called for boy appeared at his son's side, helping him up as the thug-like noble seemed to have decided it was time for him to leave. "Let's go." Spinning on her heel, the pigtailed girl took a step towards the camp.

"W-wait!" She turned her head, eyes trained on the girl who had cried out. "C-can...can I c-come?" The blink was the only sign of surprise.

"...Don't get in the way."

* * *

 **...I had way more fun with this chapter than I probably should have. One of the subtle differences between Grima and Robin is how they think/refer to Henry: to Grima he is a traitor, where as Robin thinks of him as a friend/old travelling companion. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! See you all soon!**


	17. The Son

**I know you guys are probably sick of my excuses, but being an adult is HARD! My anniversary came up this month (one year married to my living husband), we're movin to a bigger apartment at the beginning of next month, my birthday was last month and it was two days before hand that I told my family about something that happened to me when I was 14 that I never told them...so yeah, I have had a very stressful time as of late with no interest in writing for a bit. But I finally got this done, which puts a neat little bow on Broken!Morgan's life for the three in the tent and the readers. The end also has a mention of the beginnings of Robin's plan for the capital which may be extremely confusing to people who don't notice all the little details I do. Anyway, hope you enjoy, read and review!**

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A teenaged son was still an odd thing to have, especially when she hadn't had said child yet in her own world...his own however, as she had realized, may have been 'darker' than they had assumed...

A deep breath, controlled...unlike seemingly everything else right now. Henry had helped Morgan into his bed once they had reached the tent, tucking him in and softly insisting he sleep, though it took over an hour of assurance that his mother wouldn't leave before the young boy finally calmed enough to sleep. Noire sat with her back against the side of his bed frame at the end, head turned to keep an eye on the sleeping boy. The boy's father had moved over to sitting on the bed silently while Robin's quill moved almost soundlessly across the parchment spread across her desk.

"Robin?" Her movement stopped at her old travelling companion's voice, the flames of the candle gave no sign of annoyance.

"...Yes Henry?" After several moments of his silence the tactician realized he must have been waiting for her to respond.

"Do you know...what happened to Morgan...?" The dark mage's voice was soft, worried about their son.

"I can't be certain without having seen his world." She pointed out, pausing a moment. "...But I have my suspicions, yes." The black haired girl's breathing hitched, it didn't take a look to know her attention had been brought to the one talking.

"W-what do y-you...um...suspect?" The archer asked hesitantly, silence filling the tent for a few seconds.

"I'm dead." It was said so bluntly, so suddenly that there was no response for a brief moment.

"You're right in front of me!" The closed eyes boy disagreed hotly, bolting to his feet...he stopped when the orange haired teenager merely sighed.

"That's not quite what I mean Henry." With the statement he sat back down, awaiting clarification. "I mean that Morgan's version of me is dead. Since before he even came here." A stifled gasp left the mouth of the hexer's daughter.

"...And why do you think that?" The white haired boy questioned.

"He clings. As though afraid I will disappear." The most obvious piece of evidence was the one the cloaked teenager went with first, as was only logical...no one tried to argue the point. "His memory loss could have been from a head wound before we found him...I find it far more likely, however, that Naga blocked his memories upon sending him here or he blocked them himself. He has...changed lately. He struggles with tactics he understood completely a week ago, and his speech has become simpler. "I believe his memories began to slowly return, and with them the broken state my death caused him."

"Oh gods..." The time travelling girl sounded a mixture of horrified and sick. "You're telling me...th-the boy who didn't e-even respond to h-his name or a t-touch...THAT'S Morgan?" Her voice cracked and hitched repeatedly, the end little more than a sob.

"That's the most likely possibility, yes." Sobs wracked the more developed girl's body.

"Can we...can we save him?" The Plegian asked, his voice desperate enough that a look was unnecessary to know his eyes had opened again.

"I don't know." The answer left the black eyed teenager's mouth without a thought.

"You don't think so." He corrected her.

"...It's improbable." She admitted, the sobbing within the small space only getting louder. The flame flickered once, all that was shown of her emotions. "It seems you weren't around in his world at all Henry."

"I...I wasn't?"

"The way he spoke of you became more contemptful as his memories returned, nor was he ever bothered by your absence in his life here. He likened Chrom turning me into this to you...said 'just like Dad' after I corrected the royal's thinking on the Robin of before." The words felt heavy as they left the tactician's mouth, as though giving a horrible truth...though, she supposed, that was the most apt description she could give.

"I wasn't there..." The dark mage's voice sounded almost broken, it was a harsh thing to think of.

"M-Morgan, he-" Noire began to speak, only to sob a few more times before she could try again. "He s-spoke so...so highly o-of his mother. B-but...he n-never said a-a word...about His f-father." She choked on her words when she tried to continue, but pushed passed. "He j-just told...told me h-his mother...i-is this Robin. R-red eyes...and eating l-life energy...it all..." The aforementioned eyes closed as the girl returned to her sobs.

"I...I changed you..." The white haired boy realized, sounding sick.

"So it would seem. In his world, at least." The cloak wearer adjusted it slightly, taking another breath. "You may have died...or you may have simply left me. While Morgan clearly adored his version he may blame her eventual death on you." The small space felt too small, too stifling in the silence that followed...she returned her attention to her parchment again, as she had before the conversation, picking up the quill with dried ink and scraping it off carefully then returning it to the parchment as she moved it around to create what she needed.

¬NF¬

Technically Robin didn't know how much time had passed since the thick silence filled her tent, Noire had cried herself to sleep in a rather uncomfortable-looking position and Henry's own body had forced sleep when unable to fully process what they had learned. The candle still shed it's light on them as quill scratched across paper, the owner still at work. She had already suspected what she had told them, so the only new information was what had been given by the time traveller, but not a word of it really affected her. The child-like teenager knew it would have left her much like the black haired girl not long ago, yet instead it left nothing but a mild unhappiness at her old travelling companion's reactions to it.

"What a troublesome child Naga has given me." One would assume a being capable of time travel (or perhaps it was simply some sort of world hopping) would send a child of strength and use if intending to help this time, rather than a cracked doll ready to break...though gods never seemed to follow such 'mortal' thoughts. She took another breath, needing to keep focused on the problem before her rather than the ones off to the sides. She had plans to make for the upcoming battle, yet knew nothing of the area that would be fighting within. "If you intend to continue feining sleep in some vain hope that the things you have learned of Morgan were a mere dream I suggest you shift to a position easier on your back and arms...an archer incapable of drawing their bow is useless." The possibility that she would be ignored was low, so it was no surprise when the hexer's daughter moved.

"I-I'm sorry." The pigtailed teenager made no sign of having heard the soft voice, but both knew she did. "...Morgan can't fight like this." The quill paused for a moment but quickly returned to what it had been doing.

"...No. No he can't." She agreed.

"How c-can I...help?" A blink at the unlikely possibility of the question, quill stopping for only the briefest moment.

"Say'ri."

"W-what?"

"Say'ri is a resident of this continent, as are Virion and Cherche. Ask them for information on the capital, specifically the castle...any of them may have went there before." The red eyed teenager elaborated. "Any information of the structures within the city and terrain could be useful as well."

"O-okay!" The girl arose to her feet, she must be returning to her parents' tent before they awoke to notice her absence.

"And Noire?" She stopped just as the pushed the tent flap open, turning her head back to look at the teenager. "Most importantly, ask if they know if the castle is over a thousand years old."

"A thousand years old?" The tone conveyed that the other female thought the question odd.

"Yes. While it may not appear as such, that piece of information is the most vital you could obtain for me." Glowing eyes bore into wide purple ones, a quick nod the only response before the inhabitants were left without their temporary addition.

* * *

 **Even as Attitude!Robin she knows better than to send her son into a fight he clearly isn't stable enough to handle. Noire is determined to help, if only to keep him as safe as possible, and poor Henry just learned a whole bunch of terribly sad things about his son's timeline. Also, I love that Attitude!Robin embraces the number and pattern recognition skills that Shy!Robin hates so much, so figuring all this out was rather easy for her. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, see you all soon!**


	18. The Fear

**Oh, hey! Lookie what I FINALLY managed to get out! I hate writer's block so much, you guys have no idea. I was focusing so hard on trying to write out the next chapter that I ended up getting badly stumped, but I decided to write whatever came to mind instead for a bit and I managed the latter half of this chapter. From these I decided to add the beginning and make it all the next chapter, so hopefully it makes up for the disgustingly long wait you all had to suffer. You guys have no idea how sorry I feel...but I hope you all enjoy.**

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True fear was never something she wanted to make them feel...

Noire spent the entire day running around for the tactician, getting as much information about the capital as she could.

"I-it is over a-a thousand y-years old." She finished her report shortly before dinner, the one she was talking to unable to keep the grin from spreading over her face.

"Perfect. Thank you Noire." Robin said, though her mind was in her tactics.

"What was-" The king had been nearby, walking over once the report was done.

"I have the battle plan. Gather everyone." She explained, the second sentence aimed at her old travelling companion.

"Ok." Henry grinned, leaving quickly to do as told.

¬NF¬

"It took quite a long time to come with a plan, for you." Frederick pointed out as hand drawn maps and a few books were spread across a table.

"I made hundreds of possible plans the past few days. Without knowing anything about the capital and castle it was impossible to choose a specific one." Robin explained, seeing a few people nod in understanding. "However, I finally got the necessary information. As such the battle plan ended up far simpler than I had been expecting... there's little anyone could do to mess it up." She pulled two pieces of paper from one of the books, spreading them out for everyone to see.

"Ylisstol Castle?" Lissa questioned in confusion as she pointed to one of the papers.

"That's right." The red eyed teenager agreed, circling the area in front of the throne room. "See here, how the main doorway has a small corridor in front of it?" She asked, not looking up.

"It can only fit two people at once." Chrom stated, his voice curious. "The servants complain about it sometimes."

"It wasn't an accident, nor lack of building materials or wanting the throne room to be large. It was completely intentional." The cloaked teenager looked up, smirking. "It's for if the castle is attacked. Only a few enemy soldiers can attack the doors at once, and there isn't enough room for something like a battering ram...and much easier to barracade from the inside. It's entirely to protect the Royals inside." The Ylissians stared, amazed at the information, as she looked back down.

"What about-" The Great Knight began, cut off almost immediately.

"This opening beside the throne room is also intentional, it wasn't a mistake. It was to be used as a secret passage to get the Royals out, should those inside fear the barricade wouldn't hold. There aren't any signs of hidden doors ever being there, so it was likely hidden by floor to ceiling tabards instead but they were taken down at some point. Later castles have a mixture of hidden doors and magic for these passages."

"I didn't know you knew so much about castles." The closed eyed boy grinned, getting a soft chuckle.

"Call it a hobby." The orange haired teenager responded simply, returning her attention to the others. "More importantly, this style of castle were the people could easily get to the throne room but it was also far easier to protect has become the normal for today's standards, but it started a long time ago..." An almost vicious smirk spread across her face. "Just under 1,000 years ago."

"Valm Castle!" Virion exclaimed, causing the smirk to widen.

"Exactly." She confirmed. "Valm Castle is over 1,000 years old, meaning that it follows the older ways of building." The second paper was placed down, her helper opening the books to the needed pages with a soft command. "So, the path to their throne room from the entrance is instead...a straight line." Murmurs ran amongst the others, the vessel waiting for them to calm down.

"Your plan?" Libra asked, getting a nod once everyone had quieted.

"Chrom will fight Walhart-"

"That is madness!" The brown haired knight disagreed, almost in a panic.

"Walhart is a proud fool, none of his soldiers will interfere with their fight. He has gained an interest in the king, and will be distracted by their fight. I have been keeping a close eye on Chrom's battling, he is capable of winning against the conqueror now." The harsh words seemed to shut him up. "Frederick will stay close; Excellus is a manipulative snake, he may try and kill the both of them." A nod.

"And the rest?" Sully questioned.

"Sully, Lon'qu, Lissa, Libra, Maribelle, Nowi, Panne and Kellam. That should give us a good balance against the enemies, so your jobs are to simply take out whoever you'll do well against. Got it?" The large group all nodded. "I'll give you more specific orders during the fight." She added, though it likely wasn't necessary. "Say'ri, Virion. You both deserve to be in this fight, this is your homeland. Try your best to keep reinforcements from getting to the main battle. I'm sure a few will show up." The Valmese nodded as well.

"You aren't leaving me out, are you?" The male dark mage asked with a frown, his friend shaking her head.

"Henry, you're with me. We'll stay in the main room to take out any reinforcements that may get passed Say'ri and Virion." The fire preferred teenager explained, getting a grin. "The rest of you will protect the caravan, as always. It'll be left an hour or two from the castle, far from the combat to keep it safe." She turned upon feeling a tug on her cloak sleeve, seeing her son look at her with pleading eyes. "Morgan-"

"P-pl...lea...ea-se..." It took Morgan several seconds just to get out the single word, dragged out as it was.

"No." The voice was harsh, expected when he was in such a poor state.

¬NF¬

The night and day passed without incident, before anyone really knew it they were inside the castle. It was becoming harder to stay like this, to focus at all. The two sides were beginning to disagree, forcing a pound in her head and body to freeze...if this kept up they would split apart again, which neither side necessarily wanted right now.

"It doesn't look like Walhart intends to flee." Chrom pointed out, the small teenager beside him giving a hum.

"As I said, he is far too proud a man to do such a thing." Robin reminded him. "His men are prepared to die for him...it's certainly a feat to gain such strong loyalty from a vast amount of soldiers like this."

"I guess he inspires that sort of loyalty in people...part of the reason he's so terrifying of an enemy." He seemed startled at her sudden scoff.

"Terrifying if you didn't have me." She corrected, the battle beginning as the king walked unimpeded to his opponent.

"Morgan?!" A sharp turn of her head revealed the black eyed boy, wobbling as though barely able to stand, fighting with his magic. Her mind raced and tried to figure out how to get him to safety, or protect him, without leaving the others on their own while she moved quickly to his side. The cloaked teenager's focus was brought suddenly to the battle at the sound of an assassin trying to sneak up behind her son, shifting her body to take the blow. The sword stabbed barely below her throat, body smaller than the intended target.

"ROBIN!" Henry screamed for her, of course, but now wasn't the time to worry. With strength a human couldn't possess she pushed herself further onto the blade, grabbing the startled assassin's face. The Arcfire was ripped from the tome as the circles appeared, scorching the man to death before she made a circular barrier of fire around her son. The sword stayed as those around her stopped fighting from the sudden appearance of the flaming pillar.

"I had intended to allow the king and emperor their own fate...however, it seems my hand has been forced." The fire user walked towards the emperor and other tactician, those on both sides not daring to get in her way. Her body had purple flames snake up it, surrounding her wound and covering her back before bursting free into the familiar six flaming wings.

"GRIMA!" Walhart yelled her secret, daring to advance towards her and ignore his current opponent...another firey pillar shot up around him, keeping the conqueror in place.

"I have no care for your feeble attempts at deicide mortal." The teenager stated calmly, walking past him to the grinning hidden grimleal. Her vision tripled as two extra sets of glowing red eyes appeared on her cheeks while she approached him...it was impossible to notice without looking for it, but she was trembling.

"M-my Lord Grima! I-" Excellus looked so pleased with himself.

"Have overstepped your bounds Mutt." She snarled in a deeper human voice than normal, all eyes narrowing as his widened in fear.

"I just-"

"Dared to believe yourself higher than a god." Her voice echoed out in the loud, deep ways of the fell dragon. The hand with her glowing Mark of Grima moved to gesture at the boy still protected with flames. "You think I wouldn't notice the assassin you sent after my blood? After ME?" Fear turned to horror as the human's eyes darted towards the pillar she gestured to.

"L-Lord Grima, I never-" He backed away until he hit the wall in fear, sliding down it to appear smaller. An inhuman roar left her throat, shutting him up.

"I am the Fell Dragon, destruction itself. I am your GOD." The flame wings flared out, solidifying into black feathered ones that cast shadows upon her and her target. "Yet you intended to destroy me?"

"Never!" The man squeaked desperately, her face shifting into a sneer of disgust.

"Pathetic mutt, to bite the master that gives you power." The marked hand snapped forward, grabbing the chin of the man. "Your life is mine Mutt..." She hissed in that same echoed voice.

"O-of-" The disgusting man suddenly tried to pull away, terror in his eyes. Purple flames shot up his face and covered his body from her hand, leaving only a charred skeleton in moments.

"And it's about time I took it." The glowing eyed human took a deep breath to try and calm herself, heart pounding in her chest. She had used a great deal of her stored life energy with the pillars and killing that man, not to mention the partial transformation she currently held and keeping the sword still imbedded in her from doing anymore damage...the heartbeat was weakening but not because she was calmer.

"R-Robin?" Turning on her heel caused the pigtailed girl to see her friends, her family...all with varying looks of horror and terror. The looks made her head pound, body refusing to move from the anguish only one side felt. Libra, follower of Naga that he was, stood before his wife with his axe held out but shook with his attempt to look like he wasn't afraid. Lissa was the one who spoke, yet she looked almost petrified now. Chrom...had a look of betrayal and despair, even worse than his older sister's death. The rest...she ignored them.

"Now, Conqueror...I doubt you'll merely return to fighting the king." The pillar around the Valmese man fell, pure white eyes glaring at her when she looked.

"I won't let Grima walk freely and destroy this world!" He proclaimed, raising his axe in foolish challenge.

"I'm hardly free." Robin sighed, pulling her sword from the belt. She wanted him to die, thoughts of paying him back for making the others so scared filling her mind from the other side until both agreed. "Then you are welcome to try, Mortal." A sinister grin spread across her face as he ran at her. To be honest it was hardly a fight, the smaller body easily dodging each heavy swing as though it was in slow motion despite the wings making for a far larger target, the unfaltering grin making it clear that she was merely toying with him.

"Robin!" Her old travelling companion called as the 'fight' dragged across minutes, causing her lips to tug into a frown. He was worried about her again, blood beginning to spill from around the sword now that she didn't have the life energy left to hold it closed...probably time to finish this. Flaring her wings she jumped up slightly, seeming to appear behind her opponent in the blink of an eye. The blade cut through the armor as though it wasn't there, stabbing through his heart from behind and stopping his movement.

"It was an amusing attempt." The grin appeared again, glowing hand sending fire down the blade. The man screamed as fire burned his body from within, a humiliating death for one so strong. The Silver Sword pulled free, corpse falling without the attacker holding it up. "But only an attempt." The wings exploded into only feathers before bursting into purple flames, disintegrating before they even hit the floor. The sudden weakness hit hard, her legs collapsing under her as her sword clattered to the floor.

"Robin!" When did the boy with closed eyes get close enough to catch her from her fall?

"Just...tired..." She tried to sound as normal as she could, but the almost desperate gasps as her heart continued to slow didn't help. The extra sets of eyes had vanished, leaving her remaining sight blurred.

"Will I have enough?" Her former travelling companion pulled her closer, fear in his soft voice.

"...Yes." The vessel answered after a moment, making sure the amount she needed wouldn't kill him.

"Stay away from her!" His yell was sudden, pulling her closer and moving back...was someone trying to attack while she was weak?

"Trying to kill her now won't help!" Lucina's voice echoed through the hall, angry but almost panicked.

"Lamentably, Lucina is veridical. Grima will ensnare your continuance vivacity and convalesce itself." Laurant agreed, a look of anger in his usually calm eyes. "It is imperative that it be extirpated where the populace is absent." The glowing eyed girl didn't want to take their energy, didn't want to kill them. He carefully moved one of her hands to his chest, allowing her to take his life energy as he pulled the blade still hurting her free. It was slow, almost maddening, but the wounds healed in time with the weapon being pulled out. Her vision having returned at one point she turned her head, seeing a certain war monk far closer than he had been before and knuckles white from the grip on his axe.

"Virion. Say'ri." The tactician shifted her body to hold up her exhausted friend, his arm slung over her small shoulder as he smiled down at her. The two mentioned snapped their attention to her. "Your kingdoms are free, once more under your control. Do with them, and the rest of Valm, as you see fit." She didn't care what happened here, her expression making that clear as she slowly helped the father of her son out of the castle...no one dared to stop her, nor her son who shakily followed after.

¬NF¬

The vessel of Grima, the dark mage who defied him and a boy so broken he could no longer speak...it was odd for Noire to see them sitting and leaning against the wall outside the castle, eyes all closed while the boys leaned against the girl as though they had fallen asleep on her. They may all be shattered remains of people, but as a family they were whole. It was an almost saddening thought. A red eye snapped open, staring at the archer as if to dare an attack...the cloaked teenager knew better than to let her guard down after what happened today. That, too, was saddening.

* * *

 **These three are whole together, and it's something I've been wanting to add for a while now. So long as they're together they will be okay. As for the others...oh shit, it's Grima! Their tactician basically just went "I am the Fell Dragon, I am GOD" and killed two people with feathered wings from her back like it didn't mean a thing! And this...this is not okay. What are they supposed to do now?**

 **Hope you all enjoyed, and I hope to see you soon ^^**

 **P.S. 'Kjelle' explaining how Grima takes life energy was a placeholder until I wrote out Laurant, but I forgot to change it before I posted. It's fixed now.**


	19. The Vessel

**This didn't take very long, did it? I've actually had it ALMOST done for a few days now, just had to tidy it up a bit. Sorry it's so short, but it'll be changing perspective after the end and it's odd to change it mid-chapter. Hope you all enjoy ^^**

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The vessel, little more than a seal for a wayword wannabe god, it was time for that truth to come out. She doubted she'd be anything more to them now, just as she doubted she had been before losing her memory.

The adults were all fighting now, but Owain really couldn't have cared less. They were trying to 'figure out' what to do about their beloved tactician being the fell dragon, he kept his mouth shut and just sat on the floor since he knew no one would listen anyway. The children had run in at the sound of a loud scream, finding out it was none other than the man behind the war...she had always preferred to leave the most important person to others, making him worry that they really were losing her. None of the people from this time would spare them an actual explainion of what happened, leaving the time travellers only able to guess.

"Maybe...maybe he's trying to control her..." The young myrmidon's head snapped up at the hesitant words, wide eyes locking on his nervous looking mother. That was a far different reaction than he had expected, was this Robin really so much closer to the royal family than his had been?

"How could you say that?!" Libra demanded, always the man of Naga.

"I just..." Lissa trailed off, looking thoughtful. "...Emmeryn...why would Grima care?" She looked around, as though hoping for an answer...her son hated that this version getting the chance to save his aunt was all that differentiated them here.

"That MONSTER killed my father!" Lucina reminded her family harshly, voice wavering in her yell.

"You don't know that." Her cousin disagreed angrily, standing despite that he hadn't planned to speak at all. "You weren't there. NONE of us were." He pointed out in far too normal a voice, the crowned princess turning to face him with rage of her own.

"We were told-"

"Told that she killed him by people who wanted someone to blame!" The blond prince yelled, trying to calm himself down. "Or did you mean the only two people who could sense hexes and curses saying she was being controlled? Of course not, everyone ignored them." He spat the last sentence like venom.

"Grima isn't effected by dark magic!" The girl with the branded eye argued.

"But Robin IS!" The sword using boy hissed. "We've SEEN her be hit by them!"

"A trick-"

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR A SECOND?!" He roared, causing the blue wearing girl to step back in shock. "Robin exists because Henry was her entire life! Because she was in LOVE with him and scared that saying anything would make him leave her! UNABLE to handle the THOUGHT of being without him again!" Tears had begun gathering in his eyes, but he paid them no mind.

"I-I-" The long blue haired girl looked horrified, but he was far from done.

"You didn't see her breaking down in Henry's arms because of what happened to Uncle Chrom! You DIDN'T see my father storm in with guards only for her to BEG him to cut off her head! You DIDN'T SEE how she only started struggling because I was crying for her to be let go!" Blue eyes clenched shut as ragged breaths left the owner's throat, body shaking. "You saw her...you HEARD her...when Henry died. But you HAD to blame her..." He couldn't breathe, the wail echoing through his mind.

"O-Owain, please-" His mother's voice was concerned, desperate. It was far too familiar a tone and he didn't want to think about it, not now.

"You act like it was all some big plan to kill everyone...like she WANTED everyone to be attacked..." He couldn't push them away... "The only reason...they were there..." The memories were filling the poor boy's mind. "Was...because I..." The shaking got worse, looking as though he would break at any moment. "...I..." He practically wasn't breathing anymore. "...begged and pleaded...them to come..."

 _~Flashback~_

 _"Thank thou! Thank thou! Thank thou!" 11 year old Owain cheered as he sat in front of the plegians on a blanket at the picnic, both obviously trying to ignore the looks the other adults were giving._

 _"As long as you're happy." Robin stated with soft smile, bobbed hair hidden by her hood. "You should go play with the others. Inigo and Severa are even here." She added, gesturing to the group of playing children. He just frowned._

 _"Thee played with them all the time while thou were gone. Thee want to stay with thou." The little boy pouted, watching the white haired mage look at his companion...after a moment she gave a nod._

 _"Then let's play!" Henry exclaimed suddenly, standing and picking up the boy as he let out a surprised shriek._

 _"Henry!" The blond laughed, being spun around by the dark mage. There was far more space to play out here than in their room, he wouldn't have risked it inside because he was worried he'd trip._

 _"You're flying! Nya ha ha!" The older laughed along with him, a playful grin on his face as they continued spinning._

 _"Ah haha!" The younger laughed as they got too dizzy, the other falling onto his back to make sure the one he held wouldn't get hurt._

 _"The hero slayed the dragon." The black eyed woman chuckled from nearby, making the boy grin up at her._

 _"Thee saved thou Robin!" She laughed just a little more, and he liked seeing her happy again. Ever since she came back with her hair short she hardly smiled. "Mine-" The shift was instant; one second he was on top of a still laughing robed man and the next he was on the grass while the other ran towards the other kids. A panicked look to the side revealed the woman standing quickly. He only had time to look back at the man before everything went wrong._

 _"Eek!" The normally smiling man jumped in front of the large group of young people asaone of them screamed, a throwing axe almost immediately lodged in his chest. Who that would have hit wasn't a thought as the man fell forward to the ground._

 _"HENRY!" The vessel screamed her companion's name, running to his side desperately. "HENRY! HENRY!" She only got louder but he didn't respond, flipping him over...there was so much blood. Too much. The anguished wail the poor woman released was burned into his mind as it quickly turned into an echoing roar unlike anything he had ever heard._

 _~End of Flashback~_

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 **Oh Owain...I am so sorry that I keep making your life hell. I mean, the game did it too but I'm making it so much worse on you. Hopefully Lucina will finally listen to you for once.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed, see you soon.**


	20. The Comfort

**I quite literally wrote all of this, beyond the first paragraph, in like six hours. It's not very long, but it right to stop it where I did. Hope you all enjoy, read and review!**

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She had never exactly considered herself the most comforting person but, apparently, she'd been wrong.

Owain had collapsed mere moments after his 'involvement' with the death of the vessel and her best friend was revealed, letting out a wail with so much pain his uncle had no clue what to do. A look to his daughters showed they were just as lost on how to help as he was, a glance to his sister and her husband showed they were no better.

"O-Owain..." Lissa whimpered, tears filling her eyes at her son's pain. A thumping suddenly echoed through the chamber, drawing everyone's attention to the entrance as the vessel walked towards the group. Her cloak swung with each step, exuding confidence and power despite her small size and childish pigtails.

"Stay back!" The king isn't sure who shouted, but several of the Shepherds stood in the path of the red eyed teenager...it only made those eyes narrow.

"I'd prefer not to force my way past you." Robin stated, the flames of the torches around the room flaring. He didn't know exactly why they all parted but it was for the best, allowing her to continue towards the still wailing blond.

"Don't!" The blonde princess held the arm of the war monk, looking desperately at him. "Libra, please...let her try." She begged, the girlish man and orange haired girl staring one another down.

"...Please, don't hurt him." Libra whispered, getting a nod.

"That was never my intention." The cloaked teenager assured calmly, expression neutral as she waited...a nod from him and she continued her path once more. Her expression morphed to a soft one of sadness as she stopped before the boy, quiet sigh leaving her throat after stepping in front of him. Small legs bent to crouch down, owner almost level with the collapsed prince. "Oh Owain..." The plegian breathed, sadness filling her eyes. His arms shot out suddenly, pulling her to sit on his lap with legs on each side and wrapping his longer arms tightly around her back.

"R-Robin..." Owain choked, arms tightening around the small teenager. Her wide eyes returned to their normal size, it seemed his actions had startled her. "S-sorry...g-gods, sorry!" She let him hold her, making no move to stop him but also none to return the gesture. The wailing had stopped but now his body was wracked by sobs, the blue haired man wasn't honestly sure if that was any better.

"You ARE the Chosen One, aren't you?" Robin asked in a murmur, the one holding her nodding frantically against her neck. "Always so dramatic." The words should have been insulting, yet they held an air of affection instead. Her marked hand moved slowly rest atop his head. "Heroes don't let the opinions of common folk affect them." It sounded disturbingly close to something the Mad King or Conqueror might have said, though sound advice for someone who needed to look passed the thoughts of others, which only caused concerned thoughts of her past that could be thought more about later.

"N-not-!" The blue eyed boy couldn't even disagree properly, heaving on his own attempt. "...I KILLED YOU!" He howled and clutched all the tighter, looking much like a small child clinging in terror to a parent...only for said 'parent' to scoff.

"We both know you couldn't hold your blade against Henry or I." The red eyed teenager pointed out, rolling her eyes. His shaking became worse, though no one could see his face it was easy to imagine the horrified expression he must have from the suggestion.

"N-never-" He agreed in a panic, cut off as soon as the word left his mouth.

"Then you didn't kill us." She sounded almost bored now, as though the situation was pointless after her words.

"I BROUGHT you-" The blond tried to argue, but she obviously wasn't having any of it.

"What have I told you about killing?" The orange haired teenager questioned.

"The only ones who are willing to kill should be those willing to be killed." He answered immediately.

"And what is my most important principle?" She barely let him finish.

"Protect those uninvolved in fighting above all else." The blue eyed man wondered how the sudden questions were supposed to help, but wondered far more how it actually seemed to be WORKING. The shaking and dire 'embrace' both had lessened a surprising amount. The smaller rested her forehead against the taller's own.

"I know Henry, he'd never be foolish enough to just let himself die on me." The red eyed teenager stated, a small bit of affection in her voice again as their eyes locked. "But he'd die without hesitation if it meant protecting innocents. He saved Lucina and the other children from an attack, and died in the process..." He tried to pull his head away, only for the hand previously in his hair to firmly pull it back by the chin. "Did you ever stop to think how we would have felt if we weren't there?"

"W-what?" The prince's voice broke a bit, confusion clear in his tone.

"What if one of the children had died because Henry wasn't there to protect them? What if multiple died?" Her free hand clutched at her side. "Or, worse yet, what if YOU had been with the other children and died?" A strangled gasp left his throat as she moved her hand back to his hair. "We would have never forgiven ourselves Owain. The guilt...we wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway." The blue wearing man felt his heart stop a moment at the insinuation.

"Robin..."

"I may have made you children's lives a living hell, but all of you are still alive. The Shepherds would have all prefered it that way." The vessel gave a pained smile. "So no, you did not kill us." She repeated, pulled back into a hug...she still didn't pull away.

"Thank you Robin." The myrmidon said sincerely as her face returned to the usual neutral expression, letting her go so she could pull away after a few moments.

"Let's go." The tactician responded as she stood, if he looked at her in confusion her face didn't show he had. "Henry is worried about you." She explained, getting a nod before the two walked away.

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 **Chrom was expecting "it'll be okay" or "I'm right here" but that is in no way what he saw, she didn't even hug Owain back...yet her more unique way of handling it definitely worked. Perhaps this version is closer to the children's than expected...**

 **Hope you all enjoyed, see you all soon.**


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